Craig Cadwalader

CRAIG CADWALADER, SR. Age 94, a Riverside resident for fifty-one years and the co-founder of Pringle's Drugstores, died in his sleep at his home in Riverside last Friday. He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Marion; his sons Craig Jr., Jim and Scott; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Craig was born July 27, 1918, in Los Angeles, the son of Theo and Kathleen S. Cadwalader. Raised in Beverly Hills and educated at Webb, Craig developed into an all-around athlete who excelled in football as Webb's varsity quarterback (whose team was often requested to play practice games against USC's and UCLA's frosh/soph teams), in track and field as the school's star pole vaulter, and in basketball. He developed a lifelong friendship with Will Rogers' second son, Jim Rogers, who was almost as funny as his father. Craig often spoke of helping the Rogers save their horses when a brushfire nearly destroyed the Rogers' ranch in Pacific Palisades, in the 1930's. Craig and Marion married when Craig was 21 and Marion just 18. They first lived briefly in Beverly Hills and then Bel Air, enjoying dancing at the Coconut Grove. Craig ran a real estate office out of the Biltmore Hotel, helping develop much of Long Beach, and innovatively sold estates in distant areas of the state with the help of a private screening room, where he would screen films of the properties that he shot and edited himself. During WWII, Craig served as a naval navigator, stationed out of Oakland, from where his crew flew routes throughout the South Pacific in Pam Am's famous flying boats. In the 1950's, Craig and Marion moved their growing family to Newport Beach, where they were among Lido Isle's first homeowners, and where Craig developed a love for sailing. He also partnered with his father-in-law, Ralph Pringle, to open a pair of Pringle's Drugstores, in downtown Riverside and Santa Ana. Craig and his family moved to Riverside in 1961, when he took over direct management of the Riverside store, located at the corner of 10th and Main St., across from the Riverside County Courthouse, where it thrived until Main Street was converted into a walking mall in the late 1960s. After Craig left the retail world, he redefined his career and became a Principal at American Pacific Securities, where he performed estate planning until his eventual retirement. An avid golfer, Craig remained a member of the Victoria Club for over 50 years, where he was an early member of its Vikings golf group, chaired the greens committee for several years, and may be the club's only member ever asked to become club president and declined the offer. He and Marion played golf together and traveled the world. His was a life well lived.