Homebuilder J. Roger Glunt didn't like losing business to competitors, but when it was to Calvin Crawford, that eased the sting a bit.

“Cal Crawford was a true gentleman,” said Glunt of Churchill. “He was articulate, polite, always well-dressed. He was a gentleman builder.”

Calvin D. Crawford, formerly of Churchill and Murrysville, died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, in Redstone Highlands in Greensburg. He was 101.

Mr. Crawford's father, Charles, owned one of the largest brick contracting companies in Pittsburgh but wanted better for his son, said Richard Crawford, Calvin Crawford's only son.

“He said, ‘I didn't send you to college to be a bricklayer' ” but relented, allowing his son to join the business in the 1930s.

Service in the Navy during World War II interrupted Mr. Crawford's career plans. When he returned home, he built one house, sold it for $5,000, and then another for $6,000, and used those proceeds to start Crawford Construction Co., his son said.

During the next five decades, Mr. Crawford's company built nearly 5,000 homes.

He and his family owned related companies, including Crawford Realty Co., Style-Rite Kitchens and Calmar Equipment, for a total of about 100 employees. The Parkway Associates property management company still owns 40 buildings in Allegheny County's eastern suburbs, Crawford said.

Calvin Crawford retired 10 years ago.

Mr. Crawford served on the board of directors for the former Columbia Hospital in Wilkinsburg and chairman of the building committee during construction of Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. He served on the building committee for an expansion of Beulah Presbyterian Church in Churchill, where he was an elder. Mr. Crawford was developing a housing plan next to the church and allowed it to tap into the utility infrastructure at no cost, and donated some land to the church.

“He had his business, and he just wanted to do some philanthropic work,” Crawford said. “He was very active in the community.”

Active in the Boy Scouts of America, Mr. Crawford was instrumental in getting Boyce Park named after Boy Scout founder William D. Boyce, who was born nearby.

“He was tough competition. He was good competition. But you knew when it was a Crawford home that it was well-built and a good value,” Glunt said.

Mr. Crawford is survived by his son, Richard C. Crawford of Murrysville; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Crawford. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Wolfe Memorial Inc. Forest Hills Chapel, 3604 Greensburg Pike. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Beulah Presbyterian Church, 2500 McCrady Road, Churchill.

Bill Vidonic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5621 or bvidonic@tribweb.com.

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