CMSgt Jerry R. Crodian 80, of Tampa, Florida passed away Thursday, July 21, 2022, with his loving family by his side. Jerry was born on October 11, 1941, in Clay City, Indiana the son of James R Crodian and Earlene Warnock. On June 27, 1974, he married Pikun Srita in Thailand.
Jerry enlisted in the United States Airforce on June 16, 1960, and stationed in Denver, Colorado, and Roswell, New Mexico. On August 9, 1964, he was deployed to Southeast Asia. His temporary duty stations were Japan, Thailand, and Korea. During his career he was a 462 XO airborne weapons specialist. In 1971 he became an Air Borne Gunner aboard the AC-130H Gunship, flying 175 combat missions over Loas, Cambodia, and Vietnam. From 1965 to 1974 he served in Vietnam war, totaling 6 tours of duty. Upon returning to the United States, he was stationed at Kansas, South Carolina and MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida where he retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1990. After retiring from the military, he pursued a career at Home Depot where he provided 25 years of service and retired in 2015.
Jerry leaves behind his wife Pikun of 48 years, sons James (Kristin) & Jason Crodian, daughters Shirley Littleton and Angela Floyd. His grandchildren Jackson & Riley Crodian and Jessica & Michael Littleton, along with 3 great grandchildren Thomas Buckingham, Chad & Christopher Harris.
Faith and Family were the centerpiece of Jerry’s life. He was enthusiastic about his faith and lending a hand to others. Jerry and Pikun attended church at Port Tampa United Methodist. Jerry’s hobbies were the love for sports such as football, hockey and Nascar. Jerry was a wonderful and devoted father, and teacher to his children. He taught his family to love God, country, family, and friends. He is forever in our hearts and never forgotten.
Memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Monday, August 8, 2022, at Bay Pines National Cemetery at 10000 Bay Pines Blvd St. Petersburg FL 33708.
Jason & Family,
Our deepest condolences & sympathy on the loss of your dad. Sending you all Love, Light and Strength to get through this trying time.
Chief Crodian was my first Chief, back in 1983. He was a true mentor and leader. I have many fond memories of time in the 72nd AMU. I’ll never forget his Vietnam pictures of him during the war and hearing his stories. He always had time for his people. Unit morale was always high under his leadership. We worked hard and played hard, and always accomplished the mission. It was great leaders like him that motivated me to follow in his footsteps and obtain the highest enlisted rank, and to ultimately pay it forward. Coincidentally, I was just talking about him and his influence on me to a coworker, 40 years after. May he rest in peace and God bless all those he left behind. Sincerely, Steve Ziegler, CMSgt (ret)