Linton Guy Creel Jr

Linton went to heaven on Nov 9, 2022 at 1120p and is now resting in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was born in Clearwater FL. May 5, 1946. Everyone who knew Lin knew him to be a man of God. He was a brave and courageous, kind, loving and compassionate man. He held to his convictions and was the consummate Southern gentleman. Those of us who knew him were indeed blessed to have known such a genuinely, caring, wise, full of grace, and seriously righteous person. He was preceded in death by his father Linton Guy Creel Sr. and his birth mother Wanda Philpot and his step-brother Wes and his first wife of 40 years Faye Crabtree. He is survived by his wife Laura Barnes Creel, his step-mother June Creel who was his true mother in his life, a half-sister Jeannine and two half-brothers Randall and Ronald , a step-brother Walt and two step-sisters Tana and Twyla. There are hundreds of cousins (1st, 2nd, etc.) Aunts and Uncles too numerous to mention. You all know who you are. Linton had the privilege of growing up in Florida when it was still wild and woolly. His early years were spent in Indian Rocks Beach at the home of his Paternal Grandparents Oscar and Nona Creel. He started out being an adventurous child and that spirit of adventure followed him throughout every phase of his life. He managed to raise and adopt many wild animals as pets including marsh rabbits, squirrels, a blue jay, a raccoon and even an owl. He eventually always let them back into the wild as he was a compassionate soul. He also had numerous dogs throughout his life. One of his favorite animal stories to tell was about his raccoon. Grandma said she didn’t like the raccoon, but when Lin came home from school one day, he spied Grandma feeding the raccoon date bars! He talked of his Grandmother’s Giant Airedale Terrier who protected the house from random Fuller Brush type salesman coming onto their porch, rather knocking the man down! Lin seemed to like it when animals got the better of us humans. His favorite dog was Bandit whom he had for 16 years. A miniature poodle who Lin bought as a puppy and trained him just right. Lin and I recently adopted Maxie, another miniature poodle Sep 2021. It was great to see the bond they made before Lin left us and that he again had a dog sitting at his feet in the evenings. As a boy living by the beach you would often find Linton with his buddies and sometimes a few cousins, bringing in lots of fresh fish and stone crabs for his family and all the neighbors. He once told me the ocean was so full of fish back then that it was common to see the ocean dark with huge schools of fish, so numerous they shut out the light. Lin once made a fishing spear out of a metal coat hanger, but that backfired into his fingers instead of the fish. Lin and Cousin Fritz had to bandage his wounds before Grandma found out. As a teenager he used to catch alligators and was able to get his first car a VW from their sale. Yes, it was legal back then. Remember, Lin Creel did not disobey the law. He wouldn’t even jaywalk. He learned a love of the great outdoors, hunting and fishing with his Grandfather and Father in his teenage years. He graduated from Largo High School in 1964. He started working in finance and then was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1968. He served his country honorably for more than 30 years including two tours in Vietnam. His last tour was in Kuwait as part of Desert Storm in the early 1990. Lin had many a guardian Angel by his side. He told an amazing story. One evening, after a long firefight in Vietnam, he was taking his turn to rest in the bunker. Thousands of bullet shells on the floor tinkled as he settled in with his flashlight and weapon in his hands. After he dozed off he heard a slight tinkling of the shells, turned on the flashlight to see a Cobra in full open hood display, raised up ready to strike. We know who won that one. Lin came back from Vietnam and went into Banking where he met Faye Crabtree. They married in 1974 and were married for forty years. They enjoyed teaching Sunday school, Tarpon fishing and Archery. Lin was not shy to say that Faye was better than him and won all the first place trophies. Lin was a humble, honest, hard-working, kind and patient man who never had a bad word to say about anybody. Lin and Faye moved from Perry FL to West Palm Beach a few years before Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Lin was called up as Command Leader of a portion of the National Guard who assisted in getting direct aid to the victims. He was asked by a wealthy philanthropist, “What do you need to help your recovery efforts Sergeant Major Creel?” Lin responded, he needed a shipment of gasoline to power the REFERS, Refrigeration units. It was there by the next morning. Lin was a man of few words, but when he spoke, he made you want to listen, because you knew it was going to be important, informative, interesting and funny to say the least. Throughout his 30 year Army career, Linton received many awards in recognition of his outstanding service to our country. He received the Army Commendation Medal twice, multiple Good Conduct Medals, Sharpshooter Badges, the Humanitarian Service Award and the Vietnam Service Medal with one Bronze Star to name just a few. At one point in his Army career Lin was also in the Army National Guard as a recruiter. He received the US Army Gold Recruiter Badge for his high numbers of signed recruits. Lin’s last job was as a Healthcare recruiter, helping staff Pharmacies all over the Southeast. He was very well known in the Pharmacy circles and if a potential candidate found it was the Lin Creel offering the job, they could count on it being a good one. Lin joined the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team close to the time he would retire from the Army in 1998. In fact he wore his uniform to the first meeting. Later Lin became the Team’s President and led meetings and dove with the rest of the divers until his diagnosis of Parkinson’s and its symptoms forced him to give up diving. He was a fantastic Fish photographer, Videographer and Teacher of Fish Identification. Lin dedicated countless hours to the Dive Team in hopes what we were doing was helping our marine environment. He was equally dedicated to his second volunteer job as Church Treasurer for 18 years. He always said, if you take care of other people and situations, when your time comes, someone will be there for you. Lin met Laura when she became a member of the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team. They were married in 2015. They made time to go on a few big trips of a lifetime, before Covid hit us in 2020. Lin having been in the Army during Vietnam had travelled to many places on R and R such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia to name a few. Lin was stationed in Germany and saw a lot of Europe too. Lin and Laura, together with her father Bob, visited Madrid, Toledo and Barcelona. Lin and Laura went on a journey to Berlin, by train to the magical medieval city of Rottenburg ob der Tauber, Munich and a week at Laura’s cousins’ home in the Carinthia region of Southern Austria. Lin was very interested in the history of the church and Martin Luther’s role. He loved to visit the magnificent churches of Europe. Family was very important to Lin. Many a Happy Family Thanksgivings were enjoyed in Wauchula at Cousin Linda and Mike’s. The last time we had a family meal was on Sept 26, 2022 at Uncle Judd’s home when June, Ann, and Lib, all 3 of Hazel’s sisters were coming together in Florida. Cousins were very special to Lin, you all know who you are! Lin was a faithful soldier in God’s Army of devoted servants. May he rest in peace. He will be greatly missed. Linton’s remains will be interred at Bushnell Florida National Cemetery in Central Florida where his father, mother and brother are placed. There will be more information about that when it is possible to make all the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, if you want to do anything at all, please donate to your church or charity of your choice in Lin’s Honor. Thank you all for your kind condolence cards and calls. Written by Laura Creel The family is being assisted by Jackie Fulford and James Sircy of Young Fulford Funeral Home and Crematory, Tallahassee, Florida. (850.610.4444/YoungFulford.com)

Linton Guy Creel Jr

May 5, 1946 - November 9, 2022