Dr. Hulon Crayton- The Man. The Musician. The Legend.
Warm. Generous. Kind. Caring. Hard Working. Dedicated. Committed. Inteligent.
Dr. Hulon Crayton was a man of many wonderful words and a legend in his own special way. I remember the first day that I went into his office after entering into the pharmaceutical field. I was a new sales rep working for a reputable company. I was at the beginning phase of learning who my doctors were and what it was they needed for their patients. During that time, the company that I worked for had about 8 different medicines that were on the market. Of course, Dr. Crayton probably didn’t need all of those, I thought to myself. I had an idea of which prescriptions he preferred, but I wanted to also get an idea of what others he would consider trying. As I entered into his office, he greeted me with a smile and welcomed me to the pharmaceutical world. He remembered me from the school system because I taught his beautiful daughter, Corinna, whom he liked to call Cori. I remembered Dr. Crayton talking about his preferences for medications for his patients, but he also said that he would help me out as best as he could as he knew that I was new to this field and would definitely need his help in having a good sales reputation with the company that I worked with at that time. I was extremely excited to know that he was willing to support me. All I could remember was his sincerity and kindness. He always, no matter what time of day that I came or how busy he was, he always had a smile on his face whether he was talking to his patients, his employees etc. He had such a gentle spirit. He would often talk about his family…his lovely wife of many years and his children. He loved them tremendously. He talked about how he would give his wife the world, how he wanted them to enjoy life and travel and do awesome things together. I’ll never forget the pictures that he showed me of them as they went to award shows, games, and other special events. I remember telling him that I wanted me and my husband to be like them when we grew up. He told me, “Trish, you only live once. You got to enjoy the time while you have it.” Those words always stuck true to my heart. I just smiled and let him know that he was absolutely right. It’s funny how when he talked about his family….his face always lit up. His wife…..he only wanted to spoil her rotten…he wanted to make sure she had everything that she could possibly need from him. His children…..oh how proud he was of his kids! He had such a glow at the mention of Cori, “daddy’s girl” he called her. I could tell he would move heavan and earth for this young lady. One of his proudest moments that he shared was when Cori had her first child, his first grandson. I had never seen him as happy as I had seen him sharing the beauty of this bundle of joy. He was so thankful to God for all the blessings that God had given him. He realized that he was who was and was able to do what he had done all by the grace of God, and for that, he would forever be thankful. Even when he talked about his music career, of which he had great accomplishments, he always gave the glory back to God from whom all his blessings flowed. He truly understood that he was absolutely nothing without the Most High! I loved that about Dr. Crayton. He loved God; He loved his family; He loved the blessings that God gave him.
Dr. Crayton accomplished many things in life. I would like to take just a minute to share some of those with you. According to Wikipedia, “he released his debut release, First Impressions, via Premier Musique Group in 2010. The album peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Chart in April 2010. The song “Sax on the Beach,” served as the album’s first single and reached No. 16 on the SmoothJazz.com Top 50 Indie Chart and was featured on the noted jazz website AllAboutJazz.com, in addition to receiving national and international airplay at terrestrial and online radio. The song “Dr. Goodfoot” served as the album’s second single.
In addition to his jazz career, Dr. Crayton was also a noted entrepreneur and philanthropist. He ran The Arthritis and Infusion Center, a successful medical practice that specializes in the treatment of Rheumatological diseases and disorders as well as sports-related injuries. Dr. Crayton practiced Rheumatology since 1986, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and of the American Board of Rheumatology. Dr. Crayton had a Masters Degree in Hospital Administration and served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve obtaining the rank of Captain. He and his wife, Dinah, created the Crayton Foundation which assists minorities with funding their college education.”
As you can see, Dr. Hulon Crayton- the man, the musician, the legend- was truly a great man. He leaves behind a legacy that his family could be proud of. He genuinely expressed his love for God, his love for his family, his love for his patients, his love for what he did, and his love for life in general. I pray that if you didn’t know him, this blog post helped you to get a good idea of the type of man that Dr. Hulon Crayton really was. He will not be forgotten. His legacy shall truly live on!
Trish M Ministries