H. Theodore (Ted) Craig III was born in Alameda, CA on April 20, 1933, to Homer and Nancy Craig. He passed away on June 22, 2019, at the age of 86. Ted was handsome and charismatic from a young age. Raised in Alameda with his two siblings, Rodney and Julie, he attended local schools and was Student Body president of Alameda High. He was a good student/athlete and played baseball and basketball. Ted received his undergraduate degree at Stanford University with a break in the middle to join the Navy, stationed in San Diego. Ted continued his studies at Stanford and received a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1961.
Ted married his first wife, Patty Wilson, in 1953, and they had a daughter Carrie in 1960, near the end of their marriage. Ted met and married his second wife Mary Hinman in 1963 while practicing law in San Francisco. They lived in Alameda and had four children: Ted IV (Kathleen), Katherine (John Volkers), Andy (Silvana), and Eric (Nadja). When the marriage ended, Ted lived on a small houseboat in Alameda’s Mariner Square.
Ted practiced law with partners (Davis, Craig and Bartalini) in Alameda until 1980 when he established his solo practice specializing in Family Law. His new offices were in Emeryville, CA where he met his third wife, Katherine (Kaki) Mackinlay. They married in 1982 and had two daughters, Kristen (Michael Reed) and Lara. After living on the houseboat and then San Francisco, they purchased Kaki’s family home in Orinda in 1985. After his office partner retired in 1998, Ted moved his practice to Orinda.
Ted loved sports as a player, coach and fan. He had Raiders tickets (until they moved to LA) and followed the Oakland A’s and Boston Red Sox (mom from Boston). Ted coached his children’s sports whenever possible. His boys played baseball in Alameda, and his youngest girls played softball and basketball in Orinda. Ted took up different sports over his lifetime. He sailed, ran, biked, and played tennis, all very intensely for a time.
Spirituality was important to Ted. He was open to many different spiritual practices most of his life, both mainstream and avant-garde. In the 70’s, Ted participated in Lifespring and Aras, an offshoot of the self awareness workshops. Ted, with his sister Julie and a few others, developed their own workshop, Agape, in the early 1980’s. Ted also tried Thai Chi, Rolfing, holistic medicine and meditation. He joined a Presbyterian church in the late 1990’s.
In the mid 2000s, Ted was tested for memory issues and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He was highly functional for the first few years, doing volunteer work and participating in several drug studies. By 2013, Ted’s condition deteriorated to a level where 24 x 7 care was necessary. He moved into a small Care Home in Lafayette, and then, weeks before he died, to a different home in Concord. Even though his journey was 14 years long since diagnosis, his passing (from aspiration pneumonia) was swift and peaceful.
Ted is predeceased by his parents and his brother Rod. Ted’s seven children have produced twelve grandchildren: Cori, Peyton, Kaitlin and Cooper Volkers, Mary, Scott, Niklas, Joshua, Anthony, Audrey, Ana and Eliza.
His Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, September 15th at 1:00 p.m. at the Encinal Yacht Club, 1251 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association or your favorite charity.
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