Thursday, 28 March 2024

Craig ‘Gilly’ Newfield

Craig Newfield. Courtesy photo.

COBB, Calif. – A graveside memorial service for Craig “Gilly" Newfield will be held on Friday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of the Pines outdoor church at Forest Lake at Highway 175 and Forest Lake Drive, Cobb.

Gilly will then be taken by riderless horse to Glenbrook Cemetery on Bottle Rock Road for his final rest. Social distancing and masks, please.

Craig was born to Elna and Richard Newfield on Good Friday in March 1951 in Burbank, California. His mom always said he came that day just to mess up her Easter plans.

He moved to Cobb when his parents purchased Cobb Valley Ranch on Bottle Rock Road. He was 11 when he stayed with his father to save his home from a wildfire. He was heartbroken when the ranch was lost in the Valley fire.

Craig attended Little Red School House (his mugshot still hangs there). He was a Kelseyville High graduate.

He participated in 4-H and amateur rodeo where he was a bareback bronc rider. He couldn’t make any money at it so he decided to stick to his second career as a truck driver.

He worked for Clearlake Truck & Crane, Red Archer Equipment Rental and Archer Trucking for more than 40 years. He always made sure to go and “worsh” his Peterbilt on weekends.

His favorite part of the day was walking into his garage, popping a Coors and turning on his TV, as it was “Fiesta Time.”

He once had a horse named “little Horse” because, well, he was little. He used to say he was born 100 years too late. We know that wasn’t true as he would have starved to death on the trail because he couldn’t boil water.

Craig was a simple man with a huge heart, a great sense of humor and few demands. If you could make his mother’s recipe for mac and cheese from scratch you were a keeper.

He passed quietly in his recliner, watching his favorite cartoons (NASCAR or WWF). We are not sure if it was from his displeasure of the outcome, that he would miss his beloved Kansas City Chiefs season, or if it was because he did not want to see the Hospice nurse again.

Craig is predeceased by his mother, Elna, and his father, Rich (No more red X soda pop for him either).

He is survived by his wife, Emily of 25 years; sister, Linda Eastman; brother, John Newfield; daughter, Rosalinda; two nephews; and two grandchildren.

Donations can be made in Craig’s memory to the American Cancer Society for the research of Polycythemia Vera, for which there is no cure.

Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com.

Upcoming Calendar

28Mar
03.28.2024 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Vision resource group
30Mar
03.30.2024 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Second annual Bunny Brunch
30Mar
03.30.2024 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Lakeport Community Cleanup Day
30Mar
03.30.2024 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Lake County poet laureate inauguration
31Mar
03.31.2024
Easter Sunday
31Mar
03.31.2024 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm
Lakeport Rotary Club Easter Egg Hunt
1Apr
04.01.2024
Easter Monday
1Apr
10Apr
15Apr
04.15.2024
Tax Day

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