Richard William Creighton

Date of Death: June 28, 2025
Date of Birth: November 16, 1936
Richard William Creighton, 88, passed away peacefully at home in Minot, ME, on June 28, 2025, surrounded by his wife and daughters.
Born on November 16, 1936, in Ayer, Massachusetts, Dick was the only child of William Creighton and Inez (Stuart) Creighton of Pepperell, MA. Growing up in Pepperell, he enjoyed all the usual boyhood fun and escapades of that pre- and wartime era, surrounded by friends and multi-generational family members. He attended Pepperell's Shattuck School, where his mother also taught, and he attended Lawrence Academy as a day student, graduating in 1954. Then, he worked summers to pay his way through Fitchburg State College, graduating in 1958.
After graduation, Dick taught for a year at Westford High School. The following summer, he and his longtime friend, Stephen Hayes, packed the car for a cross-country adventure to California and back. Stephen and he bonded over a love of cars and car ephemera. His first car was a Crosley, then a 1936 Chevy Sedan, a Corvair convertible, and he even bought Liz a Mustang after she got her driver's license. Later, it was BMWs and VWs, including his 1980 convertible Cabriolet in English Racing Green. He could identify the type of old car in a movie with just a quick glimpse, and he even taught the docent at the Maine Classic Car Museum a few things when he visited on his 88th Birthday.
Later that fall, he embarked on another adventure when he enlisted in the Coast Guard, where his duty took him to Europe and afforded him a brief opportunity to crew on the Eagle. While still serving, he met his cousin's Bates College roommate, Elizabeth Buker of Minot. This "chance meeting" at a band concert on the West Townsend, MA, town green was destined to last a lifetime. They were married on February 23, 1964, at the West Auburn Congregational Church in Auburn, Maine.
Family was central to his life. He loved being part of his new extended family, which came to include Liz's many siblings, a dozen nieces and nephews, and later three cherished grandchildren. The family also included a string of pets, most notably his boyhood dog, Tinker, and his beloved dog, Truffles. He will be remembered for his good-natured sense of fun, willingness to help and teach the younger members of the family, and the kindness and patience with which he did so.
After leaving the Coast Guard, Dick secured a teaching position and an apartment in Meriden, CT, where he and Liz settled into the community, finding both support and friendship at the First Congregational Church. Two daughters, Melissa and Catherine, arrived over the next few years. When the little family outgrew two apartments, they purchased their first home- a pretty little ranch home by a bubbling brook. Dick built out a basement rec room and screened in the garage space for summer comfort. He and Liz planted a vegetable garden in the backyard and flowers in the front. A camper was parked by the garden for summer trips to the Maine coast and other adventures. Later, they moved across town to a large home with a pool. Dick built a deck where he and Liz could host family and friends. During the summers, Dick enjoyed the pool with family and friends, tended his garden of geraniums and marigolds, and worked on house projects.
For 35 years, Dick taught middle school industrial arts in Meriden, CT, at Jefferson and Lincoln Middle School. It has been said that one either loves teaching middle school or one doesn't. For 35 years, Dick definitely enjoyed working with the awkward kids who tripped over their own feet as they walked down the hall. He filled the windowsills of his classroom with geraniums during the winter, played classical music in the wood shop during class, and was inclined to break into song, much to the chagrin and delight of his students. If Dick liked his students, they also liked him back, affectionately addressing him as Mr. C.
Dick was a lifelong lover of music and had a beautiful tenor voice that he raised in song wherever he went. He found joy in singing in church from an early age, first in Pepperell, later at First Congregational Church of Meriden, CT, the Meriden Oratorio, the Wallingford Chorus, and lastly at the New Britain Opera. He also sang with the Columbia Choral Society, the West Auburn Congregational Church, and the Maine Music Society Chorale. He was always ready to offer a song with lyrics customized for the occasion.
Throughout his life, he dedicated time to his church. Growing up, he attended the Community Church of Pepperell with his family. In Meriden, he attended First Congregational Church, where he served on several committees, taught Sunday School, and sang in the choir. He and Liz joined the Merry Mates, forming lifelong friendships with other young couples. In his last years, he was a leader in the West Auburn Congregational Church, a role that combined his faith with his desire to serve his community.
After retiring, he and Liz split their time between their lake house in Richmond, ME, a brick bungalow near Melissa's family in Columbia, SC, and visiting Catherine and Matthew in Brooklyn. In 2009, they built their retirement home at the top of Hersey Hill in Minot. Over the years, he applied his skills to many renovation projects, both at home and for family and friends. He and Liz planted beautiful flower and vegetable gardens everywhere they lived.
Dick took on the role of Papa with gusto, always ready to pick up the grandkids after school, attend school events, kids' birthday parties, swim lessons, and graduations. In turn, they enjoyed riding in his convertibles, sitting atop his Farmall Cub tractor, or later zipping around his expansive lawn on the mower.
Together, Dick and Liz enjoyed many gatherings with family and friends, but Dick especially loved to host the family's Thanksgiving gatherings on the hill in Minot. Last November, he spent his favorite holiday surrounded by over 20 family members, ranging in age from 3 to 88, and enjoyed nine kinds of pie while an oncoming snowstorm loomed. He will be dearly missed.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Elizabeth Creighton (née Buker); his daughters, Melissa Creighton Thigpen (Michael) and Catherine Creighton (Matthew Kovacevich); and three grandchildren, Willow Thigpen, Luka Kovacevich, and Liam Kovacevich. A celebration of life will be held at the West Auburn Congregational Church on Saturday, August 2, at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the West Auburn Congregational Church, P.O. Box 3126, Auburn, ME, 04212-3126