Monica Lois (Johnson) Craig, age 88, a resident of Fairhaven Christian Retirement Center in Rockford, Illinois, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 27th, 2025. She was born January 26th, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York.

Monica grew up in Brooklyn in a strong believing Christian home. She saw her parents live their faith daily as her father battled multiple sclerosis, and her mother took on a daily job to help support the family. They lived in the same neighborhood with other family who had migrated from Norway and enjoyed good memories of those times.

After graduating from high school, she followed her sister, Linda, attending Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois where she earned an elementary teaching degree in 1958. That same year on June 28th, she married Jim, the love of her life who she met at Trinity.

Following their marriage, Jim and Monica lived briefly in the area where she taught school and soon gave birth to two sons, Dan in 1960, and Tom in 1963.

Several years after that they felt called to be short-term missionaries with the Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) to work in Venezuela. They spent a year in Costa Rica learning Spanish and then went on to work at a school in Rubio, Venezuela where they made lifelong friendships with other missionaries serving there. Even after returning to the States, their love and strong support for missions never wavered.

In 1968 when they returned to the States, they moved to Wheaton, Illinois where they purchased a turn of the century house from around 1900 that had been turned into three apartments. Monica's creative vision and passion were set for the next 20 plus years. Every summer break until at least 1980 she worked on restoring the house back to its original splendor. It was in such good condition that Wheaton College purchased the home with the original intent to house their CS Lewis Wade collection. She also filled their home with antiques and her creative decorating touch that made it a warm and welcoming place for family and friends, and she continued that practice after their move to Rockford. She was a wonderful hostess reconnecting with many old friends from their earlier years and welcoming others that Jim met as he mentored other men.

Monica's other passion was teaching, working in her distinctively creative way with elementary school students, and also using her skills in the AWANA program and other kid-focused ministries at the church they attended. They were members of the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church (Compass Church) for many years until they moved to Rockford. She had the opportunity to step in periodically as a guest teacher at Wheaton College to pass along her practical experience in their education department. She nurtured student teachers in her classroom and was recognized in the New York Times in a special feature that showcased her love for teaching and reaching students.

Monica's real true focus in life was her Savior, Jesus Christ, and she was deeply conscious of His love for her. She greatly enjoyed learning from good preaching and spent time everyday reading and studying her Bible. In Rockford she began using her teaching background to lead Bible studies for other women. In later years she spoke of looking forward to the day when she would graduate to heaven. She was very aware of the sovereignty of God that had seen fit to draw her to Him and save her. Some of her favorite passages were in Romans, chapters 8-10 and 11: 33-36. The genuine faith of both Monica and Jim was fully on display to their family and has had a significant generational impact.

She is survived by her brother, Carl (the late Rhonda) Johnson, her two sons, Daniel (Linda) Craig of West Chicago and Thomas (Karen) Craig, (Angie Craig) of Arlington Heights; her five grandchildren, Johanna (Tyson) Halley, Alyson (Dustin) Jansen, Andrew (Liz) Craig, Tyler (Emily) Craig and Stephen Craig; and her great-grandchildren. Leah, Katherine, Jameson, Margaret, Hudson, Eva & Arlen.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, James; and her older sister Linda (George) Houser.

A visitation will be held at Hope Evangelical Free Church, 5656 Elevator Rd., Roscoe, IL 61073, on Friday, January 16, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the memorial service at 11:00 a.m. with a reception to follow.

Memorial gifts may be directed to TEAM , Hope Church or Fairhaven who all had significant impact in reaching out to her in her final years.