Although big of heart, Howard was not a large man. He was about 5'8" and probably never weighed more than 160 lbs. He was the seventh of eleven children and was small and scrawny as a kid. Consequently, he acquired the nickname of "Heavy" in contrast to his size and it remained with him all his life.
Following is an edited extract of his obituary in The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN), dated March 24, 2011:
TERRE HAUTE — Howard "Heavy" Creasey, 86, of West Terre Haute, passed away at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in his residence. He retired as a plasterer and was a former co-owner and operator of Creasey Plastering Company in West Terre Haute along with his brothers for many years. He was born Aug. 16, 1924, in West Terre Haute, to John Creasey and Grace Collins Creasey.
Survivors include his wife, Fairy Lee Oxford Creasey, whom he married on June 5, 1949, in West Terre Haute; six children (Lee, Cathy, Jane, Tim, Teresa & Sam) and their spouses; two sisters (Ethel and Doyne); two brothers (Don and Paul) and their wives (Vera and Betty); sister-in-law Wanda Creasey; 23 grandchildren; 33 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Glenn Creasey and Jim "Crow" Creasey; two sisters, Florence Creasey and Marie Jeffreys; and four brothers, John, Earl, Ray and Carl Creasey.
He was a veteran of the Army, a member of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church and the American Legion Post 501. As a young man, in his teenage years, he had been a member of the 3c's (Civilian Conservation Corps) which he was proud of. He was also a 63-year member of the Plasterers Union Local 75. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved gardening and spending time with family.
AN ASIDE: I was fortunate enough to have Howard as a brother-in-law. It was truly a joy to visit with him each time that I returned to the area of my roots. He was very good at weaving interesting stories of his hardscrabble youth. I often harped to his kids that "somebody better be writing this down before it's lost". Thankfully, there are ‘writers and talkers' amongst his kids, and I'm looking forward to rehashing the stories once again when I return to visit.
Following is an edited extract of his obituary in The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN), dated March 24, 2011:
TERRE HAUTE — Howard "Heavy" Creasey, 86, of West Terre Haute, passed away at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in his residence. He retired as a plasterer and was a former co-owner and operator of Creasey Plastering Company in West Terre Haute along with his brothers for many years. He was born Aug. 16, 1924, in West Terre Haute, to John Creasey and Grace Collins Creasey.
Survivors include his wife, Fairy Lee Oxford Creasey, whom he married on June 5, 1949, in West Terre Haute; six children (Lee, Cathy, Jane, Tim, Teresa & Sam) and their spouses; two sisters (Ethel and Doyne); two brothers (Don and Paul) and their wives (Vera and Betty); sister-in-law Wanda Creasey; 23 grandchildren; 33 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Glenn Creasey and Jim "Crow" Creasey; two sisters, Florence Creasey and Marie Jeffreys; and four brothers, John, Earl, Ray and Carl Creasey.
He was a veteran of the Army, a member of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church and the American Legion Post 501. As a young man, in his teenage years, he had been a member of the 3c's (Civilian Conservation Corps) which he was proud of. He was also a 63-year member of the Plasterers Union Local 75. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved gardening and spending time with family.
AN ASIDE: I was fortunate enough to have Howard as a brother-in-law. It was truly a joy to visit with him each time that I returned to the area of my roots. He was very good at weaving interesting stories of his hardscrabble youth. I often harped to his kids that "somebody better be writing this down before it's lost". Thankfully, there are ‘writers and talkers' amongst his kids, and I'm looking forward to rehashing the stories once again when I return to visit.
Although big of heart, Howard was not a large man. He was about 5'8" and probably never weighed more than 160 lbs. He was the seventh of eleven children and was small and scrawny as a kid. Consequently, he acquired the nickname of "Heavy" in contrast to his size and it remained with him all his life.
Following is an edited extract of his obituary in The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN), dated March 24, 2011:
TERRE HAUTE — Howard "Heavy" Creasey, 86, of West Terre Haute, passed away at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in his residence. He retired as a plasterer and was a former co-owner and operator of Creasey Plastering Company in West Terre Haute along with his brothers for many years. He was born Aug. 16, 1924, in West Terre Haute, to John Creasey and Grace Collins Creasey.
Survivors include his wife, Fairy Lee Oxford Creasey, whom he married on June 5, 1949, in West Terre Haute; six children (Lee, Cathy, Jane, Tim, Teresa & Sam) and their spouses; two sisters (Ethel and Doyne); two brothers (Don and Paul) and their wives (Vera and Betty); sister-in-law Wanda Creasey; 23 grandchildren; 33 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Glenn Creasey and Jim "Crow" Creasey; two sisters, Florence Creasey and Marie Jeffreys; and four brothers, John, Earl, Ray and Carl Creasey.
He was a veteran of the Army, a member of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church and the American Legion Post 501. As a young man, in his teenage years, he had been a member of the 3c's (Civilian Conservation Corps) which he was proud of. He was also a 63-year member of the Plasterers Union Local 75. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved gardening and spending time with family.
AN ASIDE: I was fortunate enough to have Howard as a brother-in-law. It was truly a joy to visit with him each time that I returned to the area of my roots. He was very good at weaving interesting stories of his hardscrabble youth. I often harped to his kids that "somebody better be writing this down before it's lost". Thankfully, there are ‘writers and talkers' amongst his kids, and I'm looking forward to rehashing the stories once again when I return to visit.
Following is an edited extract of his obituary in The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, IN), dated March 24, 2011:
TERRE HAUTE — Howard "Heavy" Creasey, 86, of West Terre Haute, passed away at 2:42 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in his residence. He retired as a plasterer and was a former co-owner and operator of Creasey Plastering Company in West Terre Haute along with his brothers for many years. He was born Aug. 16, 1924, in West Terre Haute, to John Creasey and Grace Collins Creasey.
Survivors include his wife, Fairy Lee Oxford Creasey, whom he married on June 5, 1949, in West Terre Haute; six children (Lee, Cathy, Jane, Tim, Teresa & Sam) and their spouses; two sisters (Ethel and Doyne); two brothers (Don and Paul) and their wives (Vera and Betty); sister-in-law Wanda Creasey; 23 grandchildren; 33 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Glenn Creasey and Jim "Crow" Creasey; two sisters, Florence Creasey and Marie Jeffreys; and four brothers, John, Earl, Ray and Carl Creasey.
He was a veteran of the Army, a member of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church and the American Legion Post 501. As a young man, in his teenage years, he had been a member of the 3c's (Civilian Conservation Corps) which he was proud of. He was also a 63-year member of the Plasterers Union Local 75. He was an avid outdoorsman and loved gardening and spending time with family.
AN ASIDE: I was fortunate enough to have Howard as a brother-in-law. It was truly a joy to visit with him each time that I returned to the area of my roots. He was very good at weaving interesting stories of his hardscrabble youth. I often harped to his kids that "somebody better be writing this down before it's lost". Thankfully, there are ‘writers and talkers' amongst his kids, and I'm looking forward to rehashing the stories once again when I return to visit.
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