Dr. William M. Creason's Obituary
Dr. William M. Creason died on Sunday, September 21, at his home. He was 91. He was born in Dishman, Washington in 1922. His parents, Walter and Hattie, raised their family of six kids in several towns around the United States. His dad was a Presbyterian minister and farmer. They were tragically killed in a car accident in 1950.
Bill attended Fennville High, Western Michigan University, and the University of Michigan Dental School. He was in the Service, like so many of his generation, from 1943 to 1953, serving in the Navy in Maryland and Texas, and in the Army in Germany during the Korean War. He married his wife, Mary Rawlinson, in 1945, and they moved to Grand Haven, Michigan. They were a team for 70 years, raising their four kids: Kennard (Wendy), Yvonne, Steve (Aleta), and Paul, enjoying their many relatives and friends, and contributing to their community, church, and profession.
Bill loved his eight grandchildren: Jamina (Kevin), Kevin, Nick, Eric, Sally, Jonas, Katelyn, and Vicky. His sister, Lois Shields (Ted) and sister in-law, Ginny Rawlinson (Woods) survive him. Bill’s brothers, Walter (Helen) and Woodrow (Maxine) Creason, and sisters, Mary (Robert) VanVoorhees and Dorothy (Hugh) Tyler, have all passed. He enjoyed spending time with his wife Mary’s brothers and sisters and their spouses and extended families. They lived in all parts of the country, but got together often, supported one another, and he so enjoyed their company. His mother-in-law, Nora Belle Rawlinson, also held a special place in his heart. He always said that the hardest part of living to an old age is that most of your friends and relatives are not there to share it with you.
Bill loved being a dentist, and his patients loved him. He practiced in Grand Haven for 47 years, and was an activist in his profession. He was instrumental in water fluoridation, was president of the Michigan Dental Association in 1980, and chairman of the American Dental Political Action Committee from 1974 to 1981.
Bill loved Grand Haven. He served as councilman and Mayor for eight years, but what he did best was make his ideas happen. He knew how to raise money, and then he made it come true. His main theme was the restoration of Grand Haven’s waterfront and downtown. The Musical Fountain and the Nativity Scene, which Bill and his friends devoted so much time to, were the beginning. He even tried a mall in several blocks of downtown, which did not work out, but it may have been one of the first in the country.
Bill loved his family, friends, and the many organizations he supported in his lifetime. The Grand Haven Presbyterian Church, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, Grand Haven Rotary, the Tri-Cities YMCA, the Tri-Cities Historical Museum, the Michigan Air Tour and the Stag Club, are just a few that he loved. If you needed something done, he would do it. If you were in trouble he would help. He was generous with his time and resources.
He had a happy retirement, with winters spent in Spruce Creek Fly-in Community in Port Orange, Florida and summers in Grand Haven. But most of all, Bill loved Mary. He supported her in her separate interests, primarily aviation, and even in his later years, with its health challenges, their marriage had at its foundation a love and trust that is an example to all of us.
The funeral service will be held Saturday, September 27, at 12:00 noon at the First Presbyterian Church, Grand Haven, Michigan with Rev. Dr. Tom Cook officiating. The visitation will be Friday, September 26, 5 pm to 7 pm at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home, 620 Washington, Grand Haven, Michigan. Memorials may be given to The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation Musical Fountain Fund or the fund there of your choice.
The family is being served by VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home of Grand Haven.
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