Leo Creel Obituary


Florence Times-Daily, 12/18/2009
Submitted by Joyce Farris



Leo Creel, 90, went to be with Jesus on Dec. 15, 2009. He and his wife, Alyene, had been long-term residents of Florence but had resided in Huntsville for the last two years. Mr. Creel's passing came due to the multiple complications of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Mr. Creel was born April 6, 1919, in Winston County, Ala., near the Pebble community, to Joseph and Leona Posey Creel. Joseph and Leona ("Miss Onie") had three children - Lola, Leo and Floyd (who died in infancy). The family moved to a rural Franklin County location on Bear Creek that became known as Posey's Mill because of the grist mill operated there by the Posey and Creel families.

Mr. Creel's tales of his youth at Posey's Mill are legendary. He told of farmers bringing their corn for grinding into meal, of his father, Joseph, a gentle man, who single-handedly could hoist a bale of cotton and who could not be beaten in the community wrestling matches, of his tree-climbing dog, Ponto, that would get his squirrel at any cost, and of his many days of plowing "old Bess," the mule.

A favorite tale was of "Big Tom," the corn-fattened catfish grown so large feeding at the downstream side of the mill that he could not be caught. The story goes that young Leo, determined to catch "Big Tom," tied a line of bailing wire with a possum-baited hook onto a "sapling" tree by the mill stream, cast it out, and then waited while working at the mill. Glancing toward the stream, Leo saw the sapling thrashing about by tremendous pressure on the line he had baited for "Big Tom." Mr. Creel recalls that, before he could get to the line, the big fish got turned sideways, dammed up the mill stream, caused the water to reverse itself turning the mill wheel backwards, and unground 50 bushels of corn before they used two mules to pull "Big Tom" out of the stream. Mr. Creel told this tale to the unsuspecting with such sincerity that they often responded with, "Really? Boy, that must have been a very big fish!"

But Mr. Creel was not destined to stay on the farm at Posey's Mill. Joseph and Miss Onie had a burning ambition that their children would get a good education. So, beginning with junior high, young Leo and his sister, Lola, were boarded, Monday through Friday, with uncles and aunts in nearby Haleyville to attend the schools there.

Upon graduation from Haleyville High School, Mr. Creel enrolled at Jacksonville State Teachers College. His father had died of a sudden heart attack and Leo was "miserable," wanting to give up school and come home to live on the farm with his mother. The story goes that Miss Onie would not allow this. She made him stay in college while she planted, hoed and harvested a leased field of cotton, pretty much by herself, in order to help pay the bills to keep Leo in school. But Leo didn't get his degree at that time due to a young woman and an uncle.

Mr. Creel met Alyene while he was refereeing one of her junior high basketball games. Alyene recalls that, much to her surprise, she made a free throw. But the relationship with Leo became serious when he blew his whistle saying that she had stepped over the free-throw line. Alyene likes to think that they met when Leo whistled at her for stepping over the line.

This chance meeting of Mr. Creel and his future wife was soon followed by his outbidding of another suitor for Alyene's box at a box dinner fund-raising event. The contents of the boxed dinner must have been pleasing to Mr. Creel because he asked Alyene to marry him eight months later. But then the uncle, Uncle Sam, requested that Leo take a tour. The year was 1940 and World War II was about to swing into high gear.

Mr. Creel did his basic training at Miami Beach, and then went to Lowery Field Army Air Base in Denver. He was trained as a tail turret gunner on B-17 aircraft. Mr. Creel tells of the training mission when he spent most of the flight attempting to move the sharp object that was "poking me in the back." He had been sitting on the bottom door of the plane and the sharp object was the door handle.

Just before he was to be sent into combat in Europe, Mr. Creel was pulled from his squad and assigned to be a gunnery instructor for new recruits at Kingman Air Base in Arizona. It seems that Mr. Creel was destined to become an educator, perhaps by the providence of God (and assuredly by the determination of Miss Onie). Alyene, his young bride, followed Mr. Creel on all his military assignments, living and working off post, and finding time to be with him as she could.

After the war, Mr. Creel returned to Alabama to resume his education at Florence State Teachers College. Later he taught history and economics at Haleyville High School. Then he was principal at Pebble Jr. High School and later principal of Meek High School in Arley. Mr. Creel returned to school at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, where he was awarded his Masters and Educational Specialist degrees in Administration.

In 1956, Mr. Creel moved to Florence, where he was principal of Brandon Elementary for 10 years until asked to become Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Director of Administration for Florence City Schools. During these years. Mr. Creel was selected by the State Board of Education to be Alabama's representative to tour India's schools and universities to share ideas about education with their international counterparts. Additionally, Mr. Creel was very active with the Alabama Education Association, holding various offices and committee assignments. Mr. Creel frequently chaired Southern Association for Accreditation of Schools committees that provided oversight and recommended accreditation of schools. Mr. Creel was an educator for 42 years before his retirement in 1983. In retirement, he continued to work tirelessly on behalf of students and teachers as an active member and officeholder in the Alabama Retired Teachers Association.

Mr. Creel always took a keen interest in his family. Early on he followed his son, Joe, at various sporting events. Later still, he and Alyene became dedicated followers of cherished, twin grandsons, Christopher and Jeffrey, as they engaged in the competitive sports of basketball, swimming, tennis and football. A more recent joy has been the opportunity for him to spend time with his four great-grandchildren who range in age from 1 to 7.

Mr. Creel was active in his community, particularly in his beloved Florence, where he was a faithful member, deacon and couples Sunday school class teacher at First Baptist Church. He was a faithful member of the Downtown Florence Lions Club where he served in various offices of the club and was inducted as a Melvin Jones Fellow for Dedicated Humanitarian Service by the Lions Club International Foundation. He and his wife were avid "campers," often sharing many a hoot with great friends on their motor coach expeditions while playing lively games of rook, "hand and foot," or Mexican Train Dominoes. Grandsons, Chris and Jeff, were included on many of these trips as well.

Mr. Creel was a man of wit, humor and wisdom who would take a courageous stand for his family, for his students, for his teachers, and for his friends. He sought to do the right thing and was willing to work hard to make it happen. He enjoyed people and they enjoyed him. In his last months at the skilled care center in Huntsville, he had become the darling of the caretaking staff because of his personality, his humor and his caring ways. True, he could be stubborn when being approached with a needle for what seemed like endless medical assessments that were necessary to manage his multiple medical issues, but they loved him anyway.

Mr. Creel joked with anyone who would listen; he taught civics and American history to the Tanzanian-born nursing assistant; he prayed with those in need; and he became known as Leo "Coffee" Creel.


Home