Born on Dec. 13, 1945, to Clyde and Sarah McIntyre Selby, Craig Lee Selby grew up in Morgantown. He passed away on Feb. 6, 2023, in Charleston, alongside family after a long illness.
Craig loved growing up on Ridgeway Avenue, biking the neighborhood to Whitmore and Marilla Parks, honing his basketball and baseball skills. Voted “best-looking” in high school, he was a star baseball pitcher and carried his charm to the campus of WVU. A member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism. Following graduation, Craig moved to Charleston in 1968 and began working for the newspaper in the advertising department.
During his 45-year career with Charleston Newspapers and the Daily Gazette Company, Craig held numerous positions, including personnel director, assistant general manager, publisher and executive editor of the Charleston Gazette and president and general manager of Charleston Newspapers. Craig served on the boards of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, West Virginia Press Association, Fund for the Arts and the YMCA. He also acted as board member and president of the Southern Newspaper Press Association. He attended the executive leadership program at Stanford and was extremely proud of his career in the newspaper business.
Early on in Charleston, Craig played basketball in the Charleston Businessmen Basketball League at Old Charleston High. When he became too much of an “old man” to play basketball, he moved on to golf. He was a devoted golfer, spending hours upon hours at Berry Hills Country Club trying to achieve a longer drive. Craig was known to say, “I’m not as good at golf as I think I am.” He was an ardent skier, a cookie lover and a wine and vodka aficionado. He loved his semiannual golf trips to Canaan Valley, his daily visits to the YMCA and his annual beach trips to Sunset Beach, N.C., where he perfected his tan.
As a WVU sports enthusiast, Craig maintained season tickets to both basketball and football games. An avid reader and sport statistician, he devoured John Grisham and James Patterson novels while knowing every Trivial Pursuit sports question in the deck. Craig was also in the minority of people who still dressed to fly.
Craig was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Sarah Selby, and his beloved dog, Maggie. He was very proud that he trained Maggie to gently retrieve his paper from the driveway each morning. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Sue; his two children, Crista Reed, of Flower Mound, Texas, (husband Doug, daughter Emily) and Allyson Fox, of Mountain Brook, Ala. (husband Bill, daughter Margaret, sons Will and Henry); his brother, David, of San Luis Obispo, Calif. (wife Chip, son Jamison, daughters Brooke and Amanda); brother-in-law, George O’Malley, of Charleston, (wife Jamie); and his best friend of 73 years, Clete Smith, of Pittsburgh.
A gathering to honor the life of Craig will be held at Snodgrass Funeral Home, South Charleston, from 10:30 a.m.-noon Friday, Feb. 24. A reception will follow at the Berry Hills Country Club, from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The family would like to extend special thanks and unending gratitude to his caregivers: Rose Hughes, Karen Igo and Pam and Stacy Jarrett, for their devoted, kind and compassionate care at the end of his life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the WVU Foundation (www.WVUF.org) or the Charleston YMCA (http://ymcaofkv.org/donate/). Snodgrass Funeral Home of South Charleston is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements.
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