Carl Creech Obituary

CREECH, Carl Carl Donald Creech was born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1946 to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Creech. Don Creech was never expected to survive infancy. His congenital heart defect was such that nothing, at that time, could be done. Through the advancement of cardiac surgery by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Don survived not only infancy, but a life of 59 years. One of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's most notable achievements came in 1951, when Dr. Samuel Kaplan joinedsurgeon James Helmsworth, MD, and chemist Leland Clark, PhD, to develop the world's first functional heart-lung machine. Just two years after this development, a team of surgeons, led by Kaplan and Helmsworth performed open-heart surgery, one of the first ever, on seven-year-old Don Creech. Through the use of the heart-lung machine, the surgical team was able to successfully patch Don Creech's heart valves,which had been malfunctioning since birth. Mr. and Mrs. Creech were advised that, with a bit of luck, Don might live to be eighteen. Though carefully guarded and under constant medical supervision, Don Creech attended elementary and high school in Hamilton, Ohio. He was graduated from Hamilton Garfield High School in 1965. In 1968, Don received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Upon completing his first degree, Don then learned of further cardiac surgical advancements made by Kaplan and Helmsworth and opted to receive a second open-heart surgery, this time replacing the previously repaired heart valves. Following this second successful surgery, Don Creech was able to live a very normal, healthy life. As a Miami University graduate student of fine arts, Don was one of a handful of the country's artists selected to attend the prestigious Kent - Blossom Summer Artists Workshop at Kent State University in 1971. Don continued his graduate studies and in 1973 received his Master's of Education from Miami University. For a period of time, Don Creech then served as an Associate Curator of Education at the Cincinnati Art Museum, working under the direction of Roslyn Wulsin. In 1974, Don moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he taught art in the Georgetown County High Schools and at Coastal Carolina College. In 1977, Don moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he continued to teach at various local high schools and at the College of Charleston. He did graduate studies in animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Living in his beach house on Edisto Island, South Carolina, Don Creech became more and more recognized for his work as a sculptor. He frequently exhibited at many noteworthy locations and exhibitions, including the College of Charleston; the MASS: Exhibition of Outdoor Sculpture at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art in Greensboro, North Carolina; the Appalachian Summer Festival in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition in Boone, North Carolina. On December 19, 2005, Don Creech succumbed to congestive heart failure and died peacefully in his Edisto Island home. He is survived by his son Mark Donald Creech of Charleston, South Carolina; his parents Mr. and Mrs. Carl Creech of Hamilton, Ohio; and his two sisters: Cheryl Creech Bowling of Hamilton Ohio; and Stephanie Creech Hackett of East Walnut Hills in Cincinnati, Ohio. A memorial service for Don Creech will take place in his hometown of Hamilton. A memorial service will be held in Charleston at a later date. Mark Creech can be contacted for more information (843-810-7407).Contributions in memory of Don Creech may be made to the Cardiology Research Department of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.