Remembering Bobby Craddock

In 2023, our dear friend Bobby Craddock passed away unexpectedly. Many of you knew him—brilliant, eccentric, deeply curious, and endlessly generous with his time and knowledge. He was the kind of person who could fix anything, build anything, and talk about everything. I'm sure we each have our own memories of "the Bobbyness". His loss has been hard for all of us, but especially for his mother, Jeanette.

Jeanette is 78 years old and still working as a therapist after a long career as a social worker. Just three months before Bobby’s passing, she lost her husband. Now she’s alone in their Long Island home—surrounded by Bobby’s things. And there’s a lot: audio and computer gear, HAM radio setups, AV wiring through the walls, brewing equipment, shelves of books, and storage unit contents stacked in every room.

She’s been living like this for two years. We’ve helped where we can—retrieving hard drives, organizing photos, sorting through memories—but the scale of it all is overwhelming. What Jeanette really needs now is a fresh start in her own home.

We’re raising money to hire a professional estate cleaning service. These teams specialize in difficult situations like this—respectfully sorting, categorizing, and removing items, while preserving anything meaningful. The service costs $180/hour for labor plus $900 per truckload plus tax and tip. We estimate the full job may take two days and multiple truckloads.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the cleanup costs and ensure Jeanette can reclaim her space and find some peace after everything she’s been through. This will cover two days of an estate service. Any additional proceeds will go to Jeanette.

If you knew Bobby, if you knew Jeanette, or if you just want to help someone who’s done so much for others in her life—please consider donating or sharing.