On the morning of April 21, 2025 at 7:17 a.m., Craig D. Rockefeller, aged 68, followed the light into eternity. Born Sept. 12, 1956 in Walton, Craig was the firstborn son of the late Henry Rockefeller and Helen (Black) Rockefeller. He leaves behind his aunts Barbara Black and Anna Black, son Michael Rockefeller and his wife Mary Ann, his brother Mark, his nephew Chad and partner Karen Acevedo and son Winston, along with his niece Erika and partner Nate O’Hara. He also leaves behind his cousins Donald Ronk, Scott Ronk, Kevin Ewain Sr. and his wife Marian, Jimmy Ewain, Debra Bass and her partner Brian Weisberg, and Rosemarie and her husband Charles Daescher, to name a few, as well as his special friend Carolyn Kurtz. Even with living in a rural area, Craig had some very special neighbors: Pat and Fred Winters, Gail and Howard Crain, Jared Boice, and Jim Astuto. A special thanks to Pat and Fred Winters for the support they offered in the months prior to his passing.
Craig Rockefeller was a man that served in many vocational venues. As a teenager he had an early passion for working on his Aunt Lilyanna’s dairy farm. From there, he walked several miles from the village of Hancock to Kingwoods to work alongside Chuck Borrows and spend time with his cousin Rosemarie. Craig was later introduced to mining bluestone and worked in the 70s with Donny Walley and Mitch Bush. From that time forward, his vocational path would change, though he would always have a passion for the bluestone industry. Amidst the economic challenges of the 1970s, Craig was introduced to the trucking industry. He learned to drive and began hauling stone for Mrs. Hankins, whose stone dock was on a rather steep grade of county Route 67. He later continued to work in the trucking industry, with flatbed work predominating much of the 26 years that he spent driving. Not only did Craig have a passion for trucking, but he was also a gifted mechanic. When he wasn’t on the road, he could be found in the garage, maintaining a truck in any aspect needed. Locally, Craig drove and maintained trucks for Phil Fiagel and W.V Tinklepaugh & Son Inc. Craig would later become an owner operator of a 1974 Peterbilt that hauled steel out of Bethlehem and other steel mills in the region. During this time, he was leased on with Price Trucking out of Buffalo and drove alongside the late Wayne Jacobs of Hancock. He spent several years working alongside Wayne, who was one of his closest friends. He fondly recalled pushing the limits with how much weight he and his fellow drivers would haul and the number of coloring books he maintained to document his trips. To this day, Craig’s former Peterbilt has been cared for and maintained by Downsville resident Mark Bass.
With a downturn in the steel industry, Craig took a break from the trucking industry and worked for Broome Bituminous, where he serviced their trucks and blacktop manufacturing facility. He later worked for Chenango Concrete during the pouring of the extending connector for I-88 along the Chenango Bridge corridor. Craig took pride in the fact that during this time, not a single load of concrete was ever lost due to a mechanical failure of a truck. He found his time at Chenango Concrete to be challenging, as he maintained and rebuilt their fleet of Brockway trucks. In need of a respite from his mechanical vocation, he again turned to the trucking industry and worked for several years for Cooperative Feed Dealers (CFD) out of Chenango Bridge. Here, he enjoyed connecting with the agricultural industry, as well as delivering to farms and feed suppliers across the state. Craig continued in the trucking industry and once again became an owner/operator in the early to mid-1990s with the purchase of an International Eagle, which he later rebuilt from the ground up.
At first, he was active in hauling containers for BC transit. He later hauled freight for Decker Transport across the Midwest, and sign on once again with Price Trucking. It was here that he would haul Hazmat Materials alongside his friend Wayne Jacobs. During this time in his life, Craig suffered a significant injury when a load lock bar broke loose, causing him to fall out of the trailer and land in the parking lot. He was later found unconscious by a fellow driver in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was transported to Hershey Medical Center, and within a few days, he signed himself out of the ICU, driven by the economic fear of losing everything. Craig once again put himself behind the wheel in a broken state and finished out a few more years as an owner operator. He would later sell his truck and work for Frank Zaczek Excavation and Blacktopping, where he served as a mechanic, driver, and laborer, as he had in his early 20s. Putting his fabrication and mechanical skills to work, Craig built a dump truck out of Freightliner Road tractor. This would be his last major fabrication project. Craig enjoyed working alongside his son Michael for several seasons, as well as with several other crew members: Frank Zaczek, Jay Zaczek, John Butler, and Dick Muller, to name a few.
Craig once again felt the call of the trucking industry and found himself doing flatbed work, hauling stone for Tompkins Bluestone and later for Johnson and Rhodes. At Johnson and Rhodes, Craig worked as a trucker, a mechanic, and later mined saw rock out of Shinhopple. Craig enjoyed producing saw rock with his coworker Gary Spry Sr. and other fellows he connected with in the mining industry at that time. After work hours, he mined dimensional stone once again. At this time, he introduced his son Michael to traditional skills of mining bluestone. Initially, Craig was slow to adapt to using a tracer saw as he was accustomed to working with hand tools in the way he had originally been taught. He again shifted back to his fabrication and mechanical skills and worked for ten years for the Delaware County Landfill, assisting with the maintenance of the newly installed compost facility. During this time, he fostered friendships with many of the men he worked with. On the weekends, he continued to mine bluestone with his son Michael in Equinunk and alongside a fellow quarryman and friend Timothy Kenyon.
In 2010, he suffered a heart attack while working with Michael and received assistance from Bill Picinich and Walton EMS. He was taken to Delaware Valley Hospital and was later transported and treated at Wilson Hospital. Within a week, he returned to working in the quarry on the weekends. Following his time with Delaware County, Craig semiretired and worked for Gustin Stone Supply. There, he sorted and graded stone and later served as a sawyer. He continued to work after hours and mined dimensional stone on the weekend with his son, and later with his nephew Chad. In turn, Craig passed his bluestone passion on to Chad, who is still actively involved in the industry today. Following a blood clotting issue that he almost succumbed to on Oct. 31, 2021, Craig permanently retired and found solace in spending time with friends and family. He experienced several other health issues up until his recent passing.
In recent years Craig would be seen with his dog Daisy by his side. Everyone at his Alpha Bible study group enjoyed both Daisy and Craig’s company. Jokingly, Daisy often won out. Craig was very grateful to Charlie Mays for his friendship and ministry. With the assistance of UHS doctors and staff, Craig fought and overcame several major health issues. However, he battled the recurrent onset of cancer in the form of metastatic melanoma. Despite his strength and determination, he would ultimately succumb to it.
Craig and his family are truly grateful for the care he received by the health practitioners, nurses, and supporting staff at Delaware Valley Hospital. They exercised attentive care and truly demonstrated how well they take care of their own. Craig was born at Delaware Valley Hospital and wanted to pass there. As a man that lived life on his terms, he passed on his terms. With the comforting, consoling presence of his first wife, Patricia, the mother of his son Michael, Craig passed as she held his hand, offering words of comfort and prayer.
In this time of sorrow, let us unite to remember and honor Craig D. Rockefeller — a man well-versed in many vocations. He was an exemplary stone cutter, a loving father, and a treasured friend. His spirit will continue to live on through the lives he touched and the legacy he leaves behind.
Memorial contributions may be made in Craig’s name to Delaware Valley Hospital.
A private graveside service will take place at the Bovina Cemetery in Bovina at a later date.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Courtney Funeral Home, Walton. To leave a message of peace and comfort for Craig’s family visit his online tribute at www.courtneyfh.com
