Kenneth "Ken" Allen Craig

Kenneth (Ken) Allen Craig passed away at his home in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on December 4th, 2025. He got to spend his last days in the place he loved, with Mary Lou, the person he loved the most. Ken’s favorite saying through all of this was “Have a good day every day”, and he lived by that to the end.

Ken was born on March 6th, 1939, in Cincinnati, OH, to George Wiley and Mary Ann Craig. He was the oldest of three brothers, Steve Craig and George “Peke” (Jan) Craig, both of whom survive. After leaving Ohio, Ken and his family moved to Sumner, WA, before landing in Pekin, IL.

Ken graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1957 and attended Bradley University in Peoria. It was at this time that he met Mary Lou Gora, a nursing student at St. Francis Medical Center, and they were married on October 14, 1961.

Ken is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary Lou Craig (Gora) and his four children: Jeff (Tammy) Craig of Danville, IL, Lynne Craig (Jim Kiernan) of Denver, CO, Kathy Gallagher (Bryan) of Noblesville, IN, and John (Michele) Craig of Danville, IL. Ken also has seven Grandchildren, Hayden (Samantha), Olivia, Sarah, Andy, Jason, Tom and Matt, a Step-Granddaughter, Samantha Kiernan, and two Great-Grandchildren, George and Leona.

Ken was a foundryman and always referred to himself as a "Sand Rat". He began his career at Keystone Steel and Wire in Bartonville, IL. From there, he moved on to the Caterpillar Mapleton foundry, where he worked until 1969, when he took on the role of Foundry Manager at Colt Industries in Beloit, WI. It was also during this time at Colt Industries that Ken was recognized in a Reader's Digest article for starting a literacy program for the foundry employees. In 1975, he moved his family to Danville, IL, and took a job at San-Tec, a division of Core Lube Industries. He was later promoted to Sales Manager at Core Lube, where he worked until 1983. It was at this time that he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and started Chem-Cast, a core manufacturing facility in Danville that supplied foundries across the US. The plunge he took at this time was a risk that many wouldn’t have taken, especially with one child in college and three others still at home, but it paid off for him, and he was able to eventually retire from there in 1999.

Ken had several passions. He and Mary Lou loved to travel, and they had the opportunity to visit many places in the US as well as China, Australia, Europe and South America. His motto was “see as much of the world as you can while you can carry your own bags”. His second largest passion was photography.

Ken took a picture of everything and everyone that he saw. He was also fond of lighthouses and had an extensive collection that he took great pride in. Ken loved playing cards with his family, as well as his condo friends in Florida. He enjoyed winning and "taking change" from all of them.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at St Paul’s Catholic Church in Danville, Illinois, 1303 N Walnut St. Danville, Illinois 61832. Father John Cyr will officiate. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery in Danville, IL following Mass. Visitation will be held on Friday, December 19, 2025 from 5:00-7:00 PM at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Danville, Illinois, 3940 N Vermilion St. Danville, Illinois 61834.

There will be a Celebration of Life reception following the burial.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ken’s name to either the American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org), the ProLiteracy Organization (https://www.proliteracy.org), or the donor’s chosen charity.

Please join Ken’s family in sharing memories, photos, and videos of his life through his tribute wall at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com .