Our beloved father and husband, David Paul Crafts, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 30, 2023 with his family by his side at the age of 87.

Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, David moved to Punta Gorda with his parents at the age of one. He attended the small schoolroom in Charlotte Harbor, the site of what is now Schoolhouse Square, and later attended Charlotte High School.

As a boy, he worked at the gladiolus farm, where Burnt Store Meadows is today. During the pioneering times of Florida shrimping in the 1950’s, he assisted his brother Kenneth working on a shrimp boat in Fort Myers Beach and Placida.

David served in the U.S. Army, stationed in New Orleans, from 1959 to 1962. After receiving an honorable discharge, he was employed as a truck driver for most of his working life.

David enjoyed spending time with family, especially his wife and children. David was known for his guitar playing and baritone vocals, his mischievous sense of humor, and his ability to make the perfect swamp cabbage. He was a talented craftsman who enjoyed restoring antique trunks, as well as a watercolor landscape artist. His favorite subjects to paint were Punta Gorda’s historical sites, which he painted from memory, including the Murdoch Depot, the gladiolus farm where he had worked, Hotel Charlotte Harbor, where he and his siblings as children often played in the hotel’s swimming pool, and Florida’s flora and waterfowl.

In his later years, David was active in organizing the annual Old Timer’s Luncheon, a fundraiser for the city of Punta Gorda, where many of his watercolor paintings were donated for auction.

David is survived by his wife Eva; son Michael Emil Crafts (and wife Beth); daughter Suzanne Elizabeth Booher (and husband Jim); and two grandchildren, Declan McKinley Booher and Isla Ven Booher; and many nieces and nephews.

A viewing will be held at Roberson’s Funeral Home at 215 Mary Street, Punta Gorda, Florida on Sunday, November 5, 2023 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. A graveside service will be held at Meadowbrook Memory Gardens at 1100 Hickory Level Road, Villa Rica, Georgia on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, at 1:00pm.

Friends may visit online at www.robersonfh.com to extend condolences to the family.  Arrangements by Roberson Funeral Home Punta Gorda Chapel.