Craig Sinclair

A writer and former academic who expressed himself with warmth and charisma, Craig Sinclair was known for his kindness, dazzling intellect, and quick wit. An enthusiastic dancer, erudite thinker, and music lover, he had a dry humor admired even by his fellow Brits. Craig passed away on March 10, 2025, at age 49, after a journey with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. He is survived by his wife Shannon and loved ones across the United States and England.

Craig Robert Sinclair was born on October 27, 1975, in Staines, England. His father, Andrew Sinclair, was an engineer, and his mother, Julia Mullineaux, was a homemaker. Craig was raised in Winchester, a historic city surrounded by pastoral water meadows and ancient Roman walls. His father taught woodworking at Winchester College, which provided them with subsidized housing to live in the middle of the city, steps away from the Winchester Cathedral and the former home of Jane Austen.

Craig excelled academically from an early age, receiving a scholarship at age 12 to Winchester College, a 600-year-old prestigious boys school and original feeder for Oxford University. He turned this down so he could have more opportunities to talk to girls. His summers were spent caravanning through Eastern Europe with a blended family. He soon went on to play rugby in school, successfully capturing the attention of the school's girls' social elite and enjoyed memorable gatherings with friends on St. Catherine's Hill. At age 16, Craig received the Laureate award from Kings' School in Winchester, equivalent to being a valedictorian.

He enrolled at the University of East Anglia, graduating with a 2:1 degree in Film and American Studies with Honors. During breaks, he danced with close friends in Ibiza, Spain, and attended the Glastonbury Festival in England. During his final year, he participated in an exchange program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which then awarded him a full-ride scholarship to pursue a master's and PhD in Comparative Literature, where he pursued an academic focus researching utopian futures, post-modern society, cinema, and technology.

While teaching at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Craig discovered his gift for public speaking. He taught a range of courses in the English and Cultural Studies departments, where adoring students lined up to talk with him after classes. They praised him online as a "major dreamboat," and "good lecturer, good communicator, good lookin'...em..I mean good teacher. But seriously, he made the experience of a potentially awful class bearable with his je ne sais quoi." The student body nominated him twice for a Distinguished Teaching Award, and he received multiple certificates for teaching excellence.

During this period, his natural leadership gifts, charisma, and generous intellect flourished. He developed a keen ability to connect with students, making complex ideas accessible while fostering nurturing, cooperative environments. Here he aligned most closely with his life's purpose of being a free-ranging, multidimensional thinker and public intellectual serving the common good.

On campus, he worked as an organizer and received the United Auto Workers Civil Rights Award for overturning the International Student Fee. Following an extended period of illness, he took leave from the program to focus on natural healing practices and new ways to honor his body.

In 2012, Craig moved to Brooklyn, NY, to dance at Mister Sunday and be with the love of his life, Shannon. He pursued the ideals of ethical hedonism while playfully designating himself as Chief Exuberance Officer (CEO) and Chief Flow Officer (CFO). He and Shannon celebrated their relationship with three wedding ceremonies, including on the waterfront of their beloved Greenpoint neighborhood. His warm personality drew people in effortlessly-he could forge lasting friendships in a single meeting and immediately create a sense of belonging. He was a devoted supporter of Shannon's creative work, helping with her art studio and documentary filmmaking projects. He filled his days biking around the city, practicing yoga, watching films, cooking elaborate meals, seeking out cultural events, championing his football team Arsenal, and dancing in clubs with chums into the early mornings.

In September 2022, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. Throughout the intensive treatments and ensuing major complications, he maintained an unwavering optimism and dedication to healing, always stopping to hug trees in Central Park near the hospital and sharing long, beautifully written updates even while exhausted and in pain (https://www.instagram.com/synchlayer/reel/DDvzcPJsz7c/). He was working on his memoir, a collection of humorous essays, when the third and final cancer recurrence occurred. He spent his final months at home, surrounded by his music, friends, and family, fully participating in his compassionate end-of-life care.

Craig is survived by his wife, Shannon Carroll, and loved ones across the United States and England. He will be buried in a green burial ceremony in Rhinebeck, NY by Fitting Tribute Funeral Services. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation toward publishing his memoir posthumously at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-craigs-final-journey-at-home.