On Tuesday, July 4th 2023, Charles "Chuck" William "Bill" Crickman, loving husband and father of five children, passed away at the age of 80 in Spokane Washington.

Charles was born on November 22nd, 1942. He was the 2nd son born to Guyetta Janice Hayes Crickman and Charles Calvin Crickman. He was raised in Fairfield, Illinois primarily by his paternal grandmother Mary Edna Crickman. He was hard-working, driven, and passionate about music, history, and life itself. He started working at a very young age to help make ends meet and continued to send money home to grandma until he started a family of his own. He found ways to monetize most of his hobbies. His love for playing drums landed him a spot in numerous dance bands (The Caveliers) and a music scholarship at Murray State University in Kentucky. His knack for poker would often double the size of his paycheck on many weekends and even allowed him to buy the family's first TV. If only he could have made an appearance on Jeopardy or found buried treasure as he loved reading and watching Westerns.

Charles left Murray State University and switched gears, enlisting in the Air Force.  He served as a military police officer and was stationed at the Fairchild Air Force Base. He spent weekends touring with bands and one night at Phil's place in Priest River, Idaho he met Elizabeth Karen Foss who would become his wife of 55 years. They would go on to have five truly amazing children, fostered over a dozen children, and adopted more house critters than you could count.

Charles went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in education from Eastern Washington University. He then finished all the course work for his PHD in Education from Gonzaga. Both a musician and an educator, he chose to pursue teaching, a career better fit for raising a family. Having come from a difficult upbringing himself, he had a heart for children, a love of community, and a passion for education. He worked for many school districts in the state of Washington, including Moses Lake, Neah Bay, St. John, and Cusick. After many years of working in Washington, he was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of working in Alaska and spent many years there. He was even adopted into one of the indigenous tribes and given the name Kitchuck; Something he was especially proud of as he often longed for connection and to feel "a part of" a larger community. Around 2005, he retired and lived for many years on Sacheen Lake until the love of his life, his wife Karen, passed away in 2018. After her passing he moved to Spokane to be closer to his kids and grandkids.

Charles was preceded in death by his brother Joe Crickman, his wife Elizabeth Karen (Foss) Crickman, his daughter Angela Crickman, and his daughter-in-law Nicolle Carol (Grund) Crickman. He is survived by his half-brother Bob Crickman , half-sister Lonni Perry, son Charles Gregory Crickman (grand-daughter Maggie Crickman,) daughters Julie Crickman (Cheri Good), Rebecca (husband Jeff and grandson Kelson) Weigel, and Rachael Crickman (wife Stephanie Cooper), grandsons Zachary Cooper, Zephyr Cooper, Max Lemkin, and Jake Lemkin, granddaughter Sophie Lemkin, niece Leslie (Al) Barrett, nephews Kevin Quinn, Dirk Crickman, and Chip Crickman, and numerous grand nieces and nephews.

His memorial will be held on Friday September 15th, 2023, at 11am at the Sherman-Campbell funeral home in Priest River. (43 Wisconsin St). A buffet style lunch will be provided at Popeyes Bar directly after the service (80 Main St.). Please join us as we would love to hear your stories. His ashes will be buried next to his wife Karen's at the Evergreen cemetery in Priest River, Idaho. He will be dearly missed.

A very special thank you to the staff at Rockwood South Hill retirement community for their loving and patient care the last 15 months of Charles' life.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to the Washington State/USDA Summer Food Service Program, Priest River Animal Rescue and Critter Thrift Store, or Safety Net Inland Northwest which helps teens/adults who are aging out of foster care. Thank you.