Obituaries

River Drowning Victim Identified as Joliet Man

A memorial service for Jason McKenzie, of Joliet, whose body was discovered last week, will be held Friday.

The man whose body was pulled from the Des Plaines River last week has been identified as 31-year-old Jason McKenzie Crawford, the Will County Coroner's Office announced Wednesday.

Crawford's body was retrieved from the river on Jan. 18 near the River Club boat launch, 700 Railroad St. The Joliet man's identity was confirmed through dental records, Coroner Patrick O'Neil said in an audiotaped news release.

An autopsy conducted Jan. 19 preliminarily determined the cause of death was drowning, O'Neil said.

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Visitation for Crawford will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at Kurtz Memorial Chapel, 102 E. Francis Road, New Lenox. A memorial service will start at 7 p.m.

Donations are being accepted to pay for the future college expenses of Crawford's daughter, Jamie Christina. He's also survived by fiancée Tara Pacheco; mother Karen (Pete) Theobald; father Randy (Debbie) Crawford; sisters Heidi (Fred) Guerra and Alyssa Theobald; step-brother Joseph Carr; and grandparents Ann Fang, Mary and Nick Guzzi, and Jerry and Terri Crawford.

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