Craig, 62, died February 8, 2000, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, after suffering for several years from Parkinson's disease and dementia. He was born September 22, 1937, in Plano, Illinois. Craig was a 1960 graduate of the University of Montana's Forestry School. He later earned an MBA at the University of Oregon.

Craig worked for the BLM in California and Alaska for six years, then for several timber companies in Hong Kong, Korea, Montana, Oregon and Washington.