Ronald Dean Craig

August 22, 1938 - November 6, 2020

Ronald Dean Craig, age 82 of East Peoria, passed away at OSF St. Francis Medical Center on Friday, November 6, 2020. He was born to Floyd and Pauline (Andrews) Craig on August 22, 1938 in Peoria, and he married June Modlin on April 27, 1958, and they were married for 62 years. He is survived by his wife June of East Peoria; children, Janet (Kevin) Thomas of East Peoria, Gary (Beckie) Craig of Hot Springs, AR, Karen (Dan) Maurer of Mackinaw, Susan (Chris) Miller of Champaign, and Cindy (Ty) Nicol of Greenville, NC; grandchildren, Ashley (Caleb) Dickison of Harker Heights, TX, Rachel (Grant) Vaughn of Washington, Tyler (Kayla) Craig of Marysville, OH, Lindsay (JD) Grimes of Wichita Falls, TX, Wes (Kylie) Rasbury of McKinney, TX, Drew (Morgan) Thomas of Burleson, TX, Abby (Shelby) Morris of Tulsa, OK, Alyssa Craig of Stillwater, OK, Trevor (Grayson) Craig of New Orleans, LA, Corey Rasbury of St. Louis, MO, Zack, Nate, & Matthew Miller of Champaign, Luke Nicol of Greenville, NC and Sam Craig of Hot Springs, AR; great-grandchildren, Keeli, Cayden, Mackenzi and Madilynn Dicksion of Harker Heights, TX, Mason Grimes of Wichita Falls, TX, Landrie and Levi Vaughn of Washington, and Brady Craig of Marysville, OH; sister, Dorothy Hanson of Metamora; and many beloved sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; five brothers, James, David, Donald, Richard and Robert Craig; and one stepbrother, John Fischer. Ron served in the United States Army and the United States Army Reserve. He was a proud veteran. In May of 2019, Ron was able to go to Washington D.C. on the Peoria Honor Flight. He enjoyed seeing all the sights with his son, Gary, and the experience was a tremendous honor. He was the manager of multiple Peoria-area McDonalds restaurants for many years. In 1973 he began managing the Velvet Freeze Restaurants in the Peoria area and became their owner in 1987. He retired in October 2000, and later worked for Peoria Schnucks for 10 years. Ron was a hard worker and a very generous and loving man. He loved his family and he loved helping others. One of his favorite things to do was to dress up as “Santa” and share the Christmas joy. Every Christmas Eve for more than 50 years he would dress up as Santa and the whole family would take Christmas treats to family and friends, sing carols, and spread a little Christmas joy. Many times, they would deliver meals along with gifts for less fortunate families. It was a beautiful tradition that the whole family enjoyed and looked forward to as much as the recipients did. Cremation rites have been accorded and a memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, November 27, 2020 at Gary Deiters Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Visitation will be held one hour before the service. Memorials may be made to OSF Hospital Comfort Care or East Peoria Church of Christ. Gary Deiters Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the family with arrangements and condolences may be left at www.GaryDeitersFH.com.