Obituary
Arrangements for a memorial service for Viki Crawford, 67, of Portales will be announced later.
Viki Lynn Crawford was born Dec. 17, 1955, in Portales, to the home of Helen Joyce (Riggs) and John William Russell III, better known as Bill, and died at her home on the morning of Oct. 29, 2023. Mrs. Crawford’s father worked for the National Forest Service, and therefore, they moved several times during her early year. In 1973, her family was living in Los Lunas, NM where Viki graduated from high school. Following high school, she worked as a key punch operator for Russ Tractor in Albuquerque.
It was in Los Lunas that she met her future husband, Walter Crawford, and they were married on Aug. 14, 1976 in Los Lunas. In 2001, they were in Portales, and together with her sister, Debbie, they opened Curves salons in Clovis and Portales. For a time, they lived in Albuquerque, but moved back to Portales in 2016. Viki was a Christian. She enjoyed sewing and photography, as well as going to the mountains where she loved seeing the wildlife. Besides her love for her family, she had a deep interest in politics.
She is survived by Walter, her husband of 47 years of their home; two sons and daughters-in-law, Allan and Amanda Crawford and Adam and Erika Crawford of Portales; six grandchildren, Emily, Ethan, Shelby, Landon, Kimber and Wesley Crawford; three brothers, John William Russell IV of Houston, TX, James Russell of Denver, CO and Drew Russell of Huntsville, TX; and two sisters, Sandra Russell-Fitch of Albuquerque and Debbie Strong of Portales. She was preceded in death by her parents, and a grandson, Mitchell Crawford.
