Kalamazoo bartender Steven Crawley wasn't much of a guy for Facebook, a former coworker at Waldo's Campus Tavern said.

It was his real-time, face-to-face conversations with the people he met that earned Crawley friends from across the country, said Eric "Ferg" Ferguson, now general manager at Hooters on South Westnedge Avenue.

Steven D. Crawley, 45, formerly of Dowagiac, died Wednesday, Feb. 20. He had been undergoing regular kidney dialysis for more than a year, Ferguson said.

Crawley and Ferguson were roommates in their days as students at Western Michigan University , and worked together as doormen -- bouncers-- at Waldo's in the early 1990s, Ferguson said, before working their way up to bartender status. "He loved the kids, loved the excitement" of working in a campus establishment, Ferguson said. "He was always upbeat."

Crawley was a talker, Ferguson said, and could easily regale the bar with stories, even those he may have told before, of growing up in Dowagiac and the mischief he and his brother got into. But he was also a great listener, allowing patrons to guide the course of the conversation, his co-worker said.

Always upbeat and cheerful, Crawley had the knack of being honest with people, Ferguson said. "If stuff was wrong, he'd tell you. If someone was bitching and moaning about something" that was basically their own fault, "he'd tell them, 'You know, you caused that.' "


Crawley was an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan, and loved the University of Michigan, but his conversations went far beyond sports.

"He was a very smart individual, and could talk about anything ...," said Ferguson, "whatever the topic of the day was."

Crawley also had that special trait of a good bartender. "He knew what everyone wanted to drink at all times, and that's a huge skill. You want your drink, don't want to wait," Ferguson said.


He said his friend had been on disability leave for quite some time, and was undergoing kidney dialysis a few times a week for more than a year-and- half before his death.

He kept up his spirits throughout, Ferguson said. "He was either up, or getting up," he said.

When news of his death reached the patrons at Waldo's on Wednesday night, "I bought a round and we offered up a toast" to Crawley, said Bruce Hayes, the general manager at Waldo's.

He, too, was a friend and former roommate of Crawley. He said people have been dropping in this week to reminisce and inquire about arrangements, even though it has been three years since Crawley last worked there.

Hayes said Crawley was well liked by employees and customers alike, and could as easily speak to young college students as he could their professors.

"He remembered details about people," Hayes said.

Hayes said Crawley concocted a popular drink of flavored vodka, lime juice and little water that he named after himself, and "in the past few days, people have been ordering them."

Ferguson said: "There are a lot of folks that miss him and love him throughout the country, and he has friends all over. A lot of people ... wish they could have come by and said goodbye."

Crawley is survived by his parents Mary L. and James L. Crawley, Jr.; brother, James L. Crawley III; grandparents, Mary Edwina Crawley, Beatrice Jackson and James L. Crawley, all of Dowagiac; aunts, Patricia A. (Robert) Gonder of Cornelius, N.C., Theresa L. (Robert) Davis of Cornelius, N.C., and Carol A. (Lewis, deceased), of Dowagiac; great-aunts, Barbara Hibler Shivers, of Dowagiac, and Shirley Teachey, of Detroit; cousins, David (Mya) Gonder of Kannapolis, N.C., Dionne (Robin, Jr.) Stanley of Mebane, N.C., Michael Davis and Taryn Davis (Christopher) Boykin, of Cornelius, N.C., Andrew Crawley of Dowagiac and Timothy Crawley of Atlanta; as well as a host of other relatives and friends.

A funeral service for Crawley will be held at noon Saturday, March 2, at Yazel & Clark Chapel, 405 Center St., Dowagiac. No visitation is scheduled.