A celebration of Phil's life was held on August 4th, 2007.   Dad insisted that there be no eulogies, just a party with lots of food and good booze, and that's what happened.  His ashes were spread at sea in July of 2008 as per his (and J.W.'s) wishes.  As J.W. said in The Doubleminded Men: " When I die, I want my ashes poured out (downwind, of course) over the Wasque rip while somebody plays a tape of the fourth movement of the Ninth."  So it was written, so it was done.  Phil and Jamie had planned a trip to Jordan and Egypt for the fall of 2007.  Shirley and Jamie made the trip instead, and spread some of Phil's ashes at Petra, a place he'd always wanted to visit.

Read Bill Tapply's tribute to Phil here:

http://www.williamgtapply.com/phil.html

Phil left three completed novels, which have now all been published posthumously.  Vineyard Stalker, came out in June of 2007 just after Phil's death.  Third Strike, co-written with Bill Tapply, came out in November of 2007.  The final J.W. Jackson mystery, Vineyard Chill,  is on the shelves now.  Another J.W. book is partially written, and may someday be completed by his family per his instructions, so stay tuned.  Delish, the cookbook co-written with Phil’s wife Shirley Prada Craig, is also still available, and Shirley will be signing this book at various events over the summer.  We will post those events here when we learn the specifics.

How to contact the family of Philip R. Craig: Shirley Craig PO Box 2744 Edgartown, MA 02539 E-Mail: phil@philiprcraig.com

Phil is now on Facebook, where you can view photographs of his life.  For those without a Facebook account, you can view the album by clicking here.