There are plenty of examples of people who enter public service to create a career of serving mainly themselves, and a rare few that truly devote themselves to serving the public as a humble steward committed to the oath they swore upon.
Augusta Circuit Chief Judge Daniel Craig is one of those few examples of a man that has devoted his life to his faith, his family and his community. Danny Craig, over the course of 32 years, as both district attorney and judge, has become an icon of integrity and wisdom.
People may not know of the adversity that Craig and his wife Crystal faced in their personal life. Their daughter, Sarah, was severely injured in a 2001 auto collision that ultimately required her to be tended to day and night.
The Craigs lovingly took care of Sarah until her passing in 2019.
While becoming a trailblazing district attorney known for his strong stance against criminals and later a superior court judge known for breaking with the standard of allowing a law clerk to write court opinions for the public record by penning his final verdicts himself, Danny Craig also serves our community as a faith leader.
Craig became a deacon in his church, St. Teresa of Avila, and has attended the bedsides of members of his congregation in their final hours to share Holy Communion with them. He tends to the dying, bestowing upon them grace and comfort.
Judge Craig has announced his retirement, but it is not likely that he is standing back from his commitment to serving others; it is in his DNA, and he has passed that DNA along to the next generations.
Daniel Craig Robertson, the grandson of Judge Danny Craig, is currently an Eagle Scout and his big project for the Scouts is crafting benches that will be placed in the recreation areas of the Augusta Canal, and his grandfather is aiding him in his endeavor to make the Augusta Canal an even more fun place to visit.
Daniel Robertson’s other grandfather is local historian and noted engineer and Augusta Canal expert Tom Robertson.
Young Daniel Robertson probably knows that he has big shoes to fill.
We applaud Judge Craig for his commitment to public service and for being that rare example of a true, honest and humble public servant.
