“I was with Joy the first time she got hurt on the job, and I was with her the last time. Sahn continued, offering a beautiful and moving tribute to his friend: In addition to brother Michael, Lieutenant Craig is survived by parents James and Carol, son Mekhi Green, daughter Laylani Lewis, grandmother Joyce, aunt Claudine “Laverne” Battle, sisters La Farist Makasi and Uris Payton, and brother Kareem Meads, as well as many other relatives, friends, and colleagues.Ĭolleagues remember a friend and comrade“Joyce was my friend. Michael Craig also spoke of the paramount importance of family in the Lieutenant’s life, citing the close connections she maintained with relatives as a source of strength and support in her life, saying, “Her values and her way of life definitely did not just fall from the sky.” It came from the muscle, from the heart.” “And she showed that dedication toward anything she wanted, and anything she believed. “She worked, and then she came home and studied. “She studied the Fire Department manual day in and day out,” he continued. She served the City of Philadelphia as a firefighter for eleven years at Station 9, Engine 45, Ladder 21, and Engine 64.Ĭraig’s brother, Michael, recalled the intensity with which his sister pursued her goal of becoming a firefighter, saying, “No one knows her dedication like our family.” She served as an EMT for many years before finally realizing her long-held dream of becoming a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department.Ĭraig was a member of Fire Class 178, graduating from the Firefighter Academy in 2004. Remembering Joyce CraigJoyce Michelle Craig was born in Philadelphia on June 7, 1977, attended Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School, William Levering Middle School, and Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School, where she majored in printing. “We wanted to pay respect to our sister and support the people of Philadelphia in their loss.” “The Fire Department across this country is a family, a brother and sisterhood” said Eagan. Robin Eagan, Fire Marshall, and Joyce Stoll, Retired Battalion Chief, traveled from Detroit, Michigan with four other members of the Detroit Fire Department in order to attend. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor Firefighters from central and western Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, DC, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York, as well as Cincinnati, Ohio, and Toronto, CA, were also present to pay their respects. Hundreds of firefighters, police, and first responders from throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area attended the service. Mayor Michael Nutter, in his remarks during the service, announced the posthumous promotion of Craig to the rank of Lieutenant, declaring that she “shall be hereafter known as Lieutenant Joyce Craig.” Nutter also proclaimed a thirty day mourning period, during which all city flags will be flown at half-mast, to be followed by a memorial service at the end of the thirty days. The funeral service for fallen firefighter Lieutenant Joyce Craig was held in West Oak Lane on Saturday morning at the Batchelor Brothers Funeral Home on North Broad Street.Ĭraig, who lived and worked in Northwest Philadelphia most of her life, was lovingly remembered by family, friends, and colleagues in words bearing the mark of the deep reserve of respect and trust felt for her by so many.
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