A humble man

His three sons summed up the life of Vincent Craig with one word - humility.

Throughout the May 21 funeral service for the revered Navajo entertainer, who died of cancer May 15, the term was repeated as his sons, Dustinn, Nephi and Shiloh, recounted the phases of his life.

Nearly 400 people attended the service, which was held at the Pinetop-Lakeside LDS Stake Center. Among them were James Junes of the James and Ernie Comedy Duo; Gallup trading post owner Ellis Tanner; singer Joe Tohannie Jr.; and Vice President Ben Shelly and his wife, Martha.

"There are no words to describe how this man before me has touched all of you," Dustinn said, describing Vincent Craig's young years in the playful blend of history and myth that his father used to such effect in his own storytelling.

"On June 5, 1950, my grandparents Nancy and Bob were outside when a meteor had crashed over a hill near where they lived," Dustinn said, spoofing the Superman creation story. "As they went to inspect the crash they came across a baby boy. That baby boy was my father.

"My grandparents were trying to decide whether or not to raise him," he said. "I'm glad they did because we wouldn't be here today. To us he was our superhero.

"I really like that analogy because in many ways it wasn't that far from the truth," Dustinn said. "My father had come from humble beginning and lived his formative years until he was 8 years old in Crownpoint."

He recalled the stories his father would tell of playing with his brothers and sisters, and attending a program at a local church where he and the other children played together, drew with crayons and sang songs.

"My father's life also had its share of hard times," Dustinn said, noting that the relationship between Vincent and his late father, Bob Etsitty Craig, was bitter.

The elder Craig was a master horseman and a hero of World War II - in time the family learned that he had been a Navajo Code Talker as well as a Marine. But he was also an alcoholic who made life hell for his family, as Vincent described in an interview with journalist Diana Del Mauro ("Vincent Craig's secrets to a happy life," May 20, 2010).

"He had come back (from war) a fiery individual that would wreak havoc on my dad, aunties, uncles and my grandmother," Dustinn said about his grandfather, adding when Bob Craig eventually conquered his demons, and he and Vincent forged a relationship.

Creative sources

Dustinn then recounted the fateful day when young Vincent and his brothers were sent to Wingate Boarding School.

Mystified, they searched for the reason they'd been taken from their life in Crownpoint, and surmised that it must be punishment for a time they went swimming in the stock tank near their home.

Boarding school lasted two months because "apparently his parents had made too much money for him to stay in boarding school."

Around this time Vincent's mother, Nancy Mariano Etsitty, was supporting the family, hitchhiking to a job cleaning hotel rooms in Gallup.

"It was early in his life that my father recognized his mother as his hero," Dustinn said.

Throughout his life, Vincent understood the value of hard work and once he had a family of his own, made sure his wife and kids got the best he could provide.

"He always put his family first," Dustinn said. "He was impossible when it came to spending money on himself. Instead of buying a new pair (of boots) he would have it re-soled so that whatever he didn't need to spend, it would go towards the family.

Dustinn then recalled the day things changed. Dustinn was home, visiting on his birthday, and Vincent came in as the boys were on their way out to the movies.

"My dad asked where we were going and I told him that we were going to watch a movie," Dustinn said. "He said that he would wait up until we got back. When we got back he wanted to go to the hospital because he was having some pains. That was when they detected a growth.

"Of all the things he would say he said, 'I'm sorry for ruining your birthday, Sonny,'" Dustinn recounted. "I told him, 'No, don't worry about it. We know what to do. We know how to set things up. You taught us well, Dad.'

"I know that we'll be OK because he taught us and prepared us well," Dustinn said.

"This man before me is my hero," said Nephi, second oldest of Vincent's sons.

Following high school, Vincent enlisted in the Marine Corps. While stationed in Hawaii, he met his future wife.

"My dad was struck by my mother Mariddie," Nephi said, noting that it was not the same for her. After they'd spent some time together, getting to know each other, Vincent proposed and Mariddie said, "No."

"My dad kept pursuing (her) and kept correspondence through letters and poems for years," Nephi recalled. "The first time he got to take out mom she had a chaperone. It was a trio instead of it being a one-on-one."

Eventually they married and raised three boys.

"I'm always going to cherish the way he loved all of us and encouraged us," Nephi said. "I'm very proud of my father. He fought to the very end."

"There are many beautiful things that I learned from my dad," said Shiloh, the youngest son. "One of the things that I did learn, and that not too many people know, is that 'Vincent' wasn't his birth name.

"He said, 'I don't know if the nurses at IHS screwed up but (his) name was actually Vinson,'" Shiloh said. "He told me, 'The United States Marine Corps made sure my name was Vincent.'"

Life lessons

Shiloh shared a story of how "frugal, almost cheap" his father was, which generated laughter from the audience.

"I remember one time he told me, 'Son, if you want me to buy you something, you know my thoughts on that. If it's under $10 I won't ask questions,'" Shiloh recalled.

Shiloh also remembers learning from his father that "nothing in life worth having comes easy."

Vincent's philosophy about spending extended to his ride, a pickup he called "the old gitty-up and go."

"It was basically five different pickup trucks rolled into one," Shiloh said, chuckling.

Of his father's lessons, Shiloh said, "He taught us to live wholesome lives, to take things in stride and to laugh.

"We were the guinea pigs for a lot of his jokes," he said, adding that if the Vincent didn't get a laugh from his boys, the joke would never go public.

Shiloh then recalled a time when he felt down and Vincent told him, "You just can't give up. It doesn't matter how hard it gets, you just can't crawl into a trash can and give up."

The last message his father had for him came during one of Shiloh's visits to the hospital.

"He could how see how troubled I was feeling," he recalled. "All he said was, 'It's OK, my dear boy, it's all right. I'm always with you.' Then he looked at the whole family and said, 'I'm always with you, all the time. T'oo baansiskees. Think about that.'"

Following the eulogy, Dustinn played a recording of his father's final song, composed while he was in the hospital. The untitled track features an acoustic guitar strumming as Vincent sings, his lyrics encouraging the people to "dream on."

Vincent Craig, who made his home with his wife's people in Whiteriver, Ariz., was interred in the Whiteriver Cemetery.

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