By Doug Creamer

Dad Creamer

            The last two weeks have been quite long. Two weeks ago on a Monday evening my brother called to tell me that my Dad had had two strokes and things were not looking good. The hospital spent several days running extensive tests on him, which provided evidence that he was not going to recover. It was decided mid-week to move him to hospice care, and he passed on last Monday.

            My dad was always very athletic. He played baseball and basketball when he was in high school. He played tennis, racquetball, and golf in his adult life. He enjoyed running, walking, and riding his bike. He also enjoyed watching sports on TV. He was an avid Red Sox fan. My brother and I took him to Atlanta to see the Red Sox play the Braves, a memory I will treasure.  By far, my Dad’s favorite sport to watch was golf.

            When I was a kid we had a professional golf tournament come to the course that was in our backyard. Dad was a Marshall and my brother and I set up a soda stand. One exciting moment from the tournament came when one of the golfers hit his ball along the edge of the woods and my black cat ran out and lay on his ball. We panicked, but the golfer was good natured and picked up our cat and petted it.

            My favorite memory of golf is when the country club was having a father/son tournament. Dad had to play twice. He and my brother were in the running to win a trophy but they came up a little short. My Dad and I were surprised when we won a second place trophy. I remind my brother about it as often as possible.

            One of my Dad’s favorite golfing memories came when I was a kid. We would often go out after dinner and look for golf balls. Then we would chip and putt around the greens. One evening a neighbor was walking with us and I wanted to show them how good I could hit the ball. They were engrossed in a conversation and not paying attention. I finally got their attention and gave it my biggest swing. I twirled around twice and fell on my bottom. The two of them laughed so hard, but they did try to comfort me. I can now look back and laugh.

            Professionally, my Dad climbed the corporate ladder. I used to tease him that he would mail new resumes out on the first day of his new job. At one point he was a vice-president of a car company, at another point he franchised a pizza chain – Milton’s Pizza. No pizza could compare. My Dad worked into his 80’s, even being an Uber driver. He was a man of integrity on his job and I admired him for it.

            If you ever met my Dad you know he liked to talk about politics. He liked to find out where you stood on an issue and he would always take the opposing view. I asked him once why he would argue with someone who held his point of view. He said that he would attack the weaknesses in what he believed and see how the person defended their position. He said he could learn a lot on how to build a stronger position.

            My Dad always liked to meet new people from different places. He treated everyone with dignity and respect. He enjoyed learning about them and their culture. He taught me that everyone should be treated equally. It didn’t matter what gender, race, national origin, religion, or any other difference there might be between us, we should treat people with kindness and listen to what they think. My Dad hired Iranian college students in the early 80’s when no one else would give them a chance. He invited people of different ethnic backgrounds into our home at a time when society was more segregated. I learned a lot about how to treat people fairly from my Dad.  

            My Dad really enjoyed the lessons of a university professor who taught Sunday school classes for a few churches in Greensboro. He would find out where she was teaching and show up for Sunday school. She said he would ask questions in class and often emailed additional questions to her through the week. She told me that she will miss him walking her to her car after class. She will be speaking at his Memorial Service. My Dad’s curiosity, questioning, and debating invaded all areas of his life. I hope I will carry on his curiosity for life, his kindness and respect for others, and his work ethic in all that I do. He will be missed.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com