Rev. John Crocker Jr.

John William Crocker, Jr., 91, of Colonial Heights, passed away on April 30, 2020. He was born June 10, 1928, in Isle of Wight County, VA, the son of John William Crocker, Sr. and Annie Sadler Crocker. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Margaret C. Durden and Sally E. Crocker.  He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Patricia Buck Crocker of Colonial Heights; son, John W. Crocker, III (Katherine) of Annandale, VA; daughter, Elizabeth Crocker Ellingboe (Peter) of Larchmont, NY; and four grandchildren, Josephine and John Ellingboe and Celeste and Clement Crocker. After coming to know Jesus as his personal Savior, John decided to become a minister.  He earned a BA from Wheaton College in 1950 and a Divinity degree from Fuller Seminary in 1954.  He also went into teaching and later received a Master’s of Teaching and a Diploma of Advanced Graduate Study from the University of Virginia.  For a number of years, John was both a pastor and a teacher.  He taught at the old Wakefield High School in Sussex County, West End Christian School in Hopewell, Dinwiddie High School, and schools in Orangeburg, SC and Augusta, GA, mostly teaching government and history.  He pastored over a span of 50 years at Baptist churches, including Claremont, Smyrna in Dinwiddie, Powers Memorial in Hopewell, Sappony in Stony Creek, and West End in Dinwiddie.  He was known for his dedicated visitation of his parishioners. He was a good Bible teacher. John had a calm, quiet personality.  He loved to read non-fiction and enjoyed traveling in the states.  An interesting fact about him is that his grandfather fought in the Civil War. Also, the farm has been in the family over 100 years. A drive-through funeral service will be conducted at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, May 7, 2020, in the parking lot of the Colonial Heights Chapel of E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory 2033 Boulevard Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834. While in the parking lot, please visit ealvinsmall.com to watch a live stream of the funeral service. The family will receive friends following the service. Friends will drive through the portico to offer their condolences to the family. Donations may be sent to the American Bible Society, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, or Gideons International.  Please, no flowers as requested by the family. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.