Crawford Mcdonald "Don" Vickery Iii

Crawford McDonald (Don) Vickery III

Don was born at Telfair Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, on September 11, 1953, and passed away on April 6, 2024, age 70. The first of 3 children born to Crawford McDonald (Mack) Vickery, Jr. and Lynette Hall Vickery, Don was raised with his brother and sister on Middleground Road during an era when Southside Savannah was a child’s utopia of dirt roads, fishing ponds, and woods for hunting. He attended Windsor Forest High School and had a slew of family and friends.

In his early adult years Don worked in the automotive industry. He didn’t like working inside, and so eventually he went into construction, working first with his friend, Richard Jenkins, and later, for Dan Walker, with whom he built numerous houses all over Savannah.

Don had two sons, Crawford McDonald (Mack) Vickery IV and Aaron Blake Vickery. Mack gave him two granddaughters, Calix Madison and Caisynn Mallory Vickery. Blake gave him one grandson, Jeffery Austin Vickery. Don was very involved in his sons’ lives and cherished his grandchildren. He was especially close to Caisynn, whom he raised for 7 years and who was his everything.

Although Don had many interests in his life, he had two passions. One was listening to country and old-time rock and roll music for hours at a time. The other was NASCAR racing. He’d meet his friends for lunch (and possibly a cold beer), where they’d choose their drivers for the next Sunday race, and Don frequently traveled to Florida and North Carolina to see the races live. When his hero, Dale Earnhardt, hit a wall and died, Don wept and wouldn’t watch NASCAR again for a long time. Eventually, he began watching again, even though, he said, there’d never be another “Intimidator.”

Don could be cantankerous at times, but loving as well. To him, family and friend were everything. When someone had troubles, he would be the first to show up and offer whatever help he could, be it advice or labor. Although Don and his wife, Patricia, divorced in 1988, he retained family status with her and her new husband, Carl Veale. He and Carl referred to one another as “husbands in-law” and became as close as two friends could be. Don continued to attend every family event of Carl’s and Patricia’s, whether it was a happy or sad time, always there, always someone to lean on or laugh with. Don was also very close to his very loving sister Pam.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, Crawford (Mack) Vickery and Lynette Vickery Tilton and his brother, Teddy Vickery. He is survived by his two sons, Crawford McDonald (Mack) Vickery IV and Aaron Blake Vickery; one grandson, Austin Vickery; two granddaughters, Calix and Caisynn Vickery; sister, Pam Vickery (Marvin); several cousins, nieces, and nephews; lifelong friends, Carl, Richard (CJ), and Patricia Veale and extended family; and good friends, Rusty and Angie Colquitt, Dan Walker, and many others.


A graveside service will be held on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 10:30am at Hillcrest Abbey Memorial Park - East.