Florida's oldest poll worker, Vera Craig of Fort Myers, dies at 101

Florida’s oldest poll worker has died.

Vera Craig of Fort Myers ― who was 101 years old ― died April 6, according to her obituary on the website for the National Cremation and Burial Society. No services have been scheduled.

The retired Sarasota school principal’s secretary started working the polls for Lee County Elections in 2002. “There was a need for it, and I was available,” she told The News-Press in April 2022. “It’s something that I enjoy doing.”

From that point on, Craig worked every single election at the Lee County Elections Office in Fort Myers — or wherever else they needed her — even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She usually served as a precinct deputy greeting people at the door outside the polling room, but she also checked voter registration and helped people with voting machines.

“I’ve done everything,” Craig said last year. “I really have.”

In an emailed statement Tuesday, Lee County election supervisor Tommy Doyle said he and his staff were saddened to hear about Craig’s death.

“She was our county’s and the state’s oldest poll worker at 101,” Doyle said. “Vera brought positive energy and a joyful disposition to every election. She will be greatly missed by all of us at Lee Elections.”

Previously: Florida's oldest poll worker gets back to work for the August 2022 primary election

Florida’s oldest poll worker: Vera Craig lives in Lee County. The 100-year-old's motto: 'Keep busy!'

Honoring Florida's oldest poll worker

Doyle was so impressed by Craig’s dedication and longevity, he personally gave her a certificate in March 2022 honoring her 20 years of service.

“I wanted her to get recognition,” he said in 2022. “It wasn’t for me. It was for her and the poll-worker department. … Her dedication, that’s the kind of person you want.”

Doyle said he emailed every elections supervisor in the state to confirm Craig's unique status in Florida. He couldn't find any poll worker who was 100 — Craig's age at the time — or older.

“They said they had voters that were 100,” he said, “but no poll workers.”

Craig’s last worked an election in August 2022 for the Lee County primaries, according to Gaby Aguirre, a communications specialist for the Lee County Elections Office.

Elections are important, Craig said last year as she sat, surrounded by voting machines, in a training room at the Lee County Elections Center.

“I mean, we live in a free country,” the New Hampshire native said. “Why shouldn’t it be important, you know? We control the place!”

Vera Craig's motto: 'Keep busy'

Craig lived by the motto “keep busy” and credited that for her long life. She spent her time playing cards and bingo, reading, attending church and, of course, working the polls.

Her supervisor Jean Sauer, director of the Lee County Elections poll-worker department, couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. But in a 2022 interview, Sauer said she was impressed with Craig’s energy and enthusiasm on election days.

“She greets people with a smile every time,” Sauer said. “She’s out there. She’s on her feet. I can’t even say that she even sits down during most of the time.”

It’s wasn’t easy work. On election days, poll workers show up at 5:30 a.m. and work until about 7:30 or 8 p.m. (with several breaks, including meals), Sauer said. It’s the same for everyone — even if they’re 100 years old.

But Craig didn’t mind working those long hours.

“Well, what else would you do?” she said last year and grinned. “I mean, you can’t just sit like this all day and do nothing! … I couldn’t sit all day and do nothing.”

To share stories or photos of Craig, visit her obituary page at https://bit.ly/3Uw3OKq.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Vera Craig of Fort Myers, oldest Florida poll worker dies at 101