Dennis Edward Creighton

Dennis Edward Creighton died peacefully at the Levine & Dickson Hospice House in Huntersville, N.C. with his daughter Emily at his side on March 22, 2024. His death came at the age of 75 after a long illness.

Dennis was the son of Francis and Ruth Creighton, brother of James, Paul, Jane, and Mark, husband to Kathleen, father to Patrick, Kelly, Emily, and Sean, and "Papa" to Ryan, Kaylee, Liam, Maggie, Nora, Bodi, and Madison. He was deeply loved and will be forever in our hearts.

Born on Long Island, in South Hampton, N.Y., Dennis graduated from Riverhead High School in 1966. He went on to study economics (or, as he liked to say, "take up space") at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.. In Riverhead he built life-long friendships with some who remained close confidants until his death. Dennis was a member of WRUC radio station and the social chair of Theta Delta Chi fraternity, where he engaged in varying degrees of mischief, stories which he would recount to his children only later in life when he was certain they knew better than to follow in his footsteps.

Upon graduating from Union College in 1970, Dennis went on to work for Connecticut General, now known as CIGNA, where he led the New York State accounts until his retirement in 2003. Through his time at CIGNA, Dennis became a friend and mentor to many. "Dennis was a terrific person with a great sense of humor," recounts his former boss, Phil Brick. A man who always enjoyed telling jokes, Dennis will be most remembered for his wit and sense of humor.

Dennis commuted daily to Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad, and his children fondly remember frequently hiding in the kitchen to surprise him when he came home from his long trek. Each day he would shed his suit and tie, don his beat-up docksiders, and spend hours tending to the garden, where he grew much of the produce his family consumed. Later in life he recounted to his children that he felt at peace in the garden, and it was where he went to reset from the stresses of the workday.

His landscaping and gardening talents were unmistakable. After purchasing the Greenlawn property in 1982, where he and Kathy raised their family until 2006, Dennis reimagined a blank acre into a garden wonderland, installing native perennials, fruit trees, and countless vegetables. Kathy transformed this bounty into home-cooked meals for the family each night. In 1990, Long Island's newspaper, Newsday, took note of Dennis and Kathy's talents with gardening and homesteading, running a front-page feature about the pair in the Food Day Plus section.

Dennis was an independent thinker on political, social, and spiritual issues, but he was also community-minded, a value he instilled in each of his children. In Greenlawn, he partnered with neighbors to purchase and install trees, transforming the area from a blank post-farmland canvas into a true neighborhood that boasts cohesive, mature plantings today. The Greenlawn yard became a favorite for the kids to host summertime hide-and-seek games and for family and friends to gather for barbecues, pool parties, and the annual Creighton Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza. During winter snowstorms, Dennis would plow neighbors' driveways and tie sleds to the back of his trusty John Deere tractor, pulling his children and their friends along for snowy adventures.

Dennis was also a life-long activist in the fight against hunger and poverty in his local communities. After moving from Long Island and his work with the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Suffolk County, N.Y., he led the volunteer efforts for the St Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Food Pantry in Punta Gorda, F.L., from 2006 until 2013.

Upon his retirement, Dennis became the Traveling Dad Handyman, packing his Tahoe to the brim with tools and traveling from Florida to each of his children's houses. He tackled projects big and small, building decks, installing doors, renovating kitchens, and rewiring electrical. When his sleep became disturbed later in his illness, he often spent the early morning hours rebuilding projects in his head. He was happiest when engaged in a project and spent hours learning new techniques, updating his knowledge on local building codes, and learning from one project to another. These weeks-long visits allowed for long conversations after dinner and valuable time together. They remain some of the times his children remember most fondly.

To honor his wishes, there will be no funeral, and Dennis's ashes will be buried in the garden - a fitting resting place for a man whose spirit and soul were always entrenched in the land. Family and close friends will gather together on April 20, 2024, at Mill Pond House in Centerport, N.Y., for a Celebration of Life from noon until 3PM. If you feel called to do so, we invite you to make a donation in Dennis's name to the SVDP Food Pantry here or the Harry Chapin Food Bank by mailing a check in memory of Dennis to the addresses below:

St. Vincent de Paul, Sacred Heart Conference

25200 Airport Road

Punta Gorda, FL 33950

Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida

3760 Fowler Street

Ft Myers, FL 33901