Francis B. Creamer Jr.
The Rev. Francis B. Creamer Jr., who was the rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton for nearly 20 years, died on Sunday at home in Waldoboro, Me., of pancreatic cancer. He was 79 years old.
During his tenure at St. Luke’s, Mr. Creamer was credited with the restoration of its historic building and fostering binding relationships between year-round and summer residents. Mr. Creamer, who was called Fritz, supported the civil rights movement for the rest of his life, after joining the 1965 Freedom March in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In a letter to The Star in 1979 and a sermon at the time, he said, “respect for human rights cannot be taught in the schools and churches alone, it must begin at home.”
“Everyone knew Fritz for his charm, wit, and sense of humor. He was a gifted preacher, generous, and compassionate to all, a true servant of God,” his family wrote.
He was born on Feb. 24, 1937, in Detroit to the Rev. Francis B. Creamer Sr. and the former Margaret Welch Gates. He grew up there and attended the Detroit University School before moving to Lewiston, Pa., where he graduated from high school in 1954. He attended Trinity College, earning a degree in English in 1958.
Before going into the ministry, Mr. Creamer took a job in New York City as a junior executive with CBS television. He soon met his wife, the former Ann Wilkins Lichty, to whom he was married in 1959.
Mr. Creamer joined the National Guard in 1960, serving on active duty for six months. He then enrolled in the Berkeley Divinity School, from which he received a master’s degree. He delivered the student commencement address in 1963 and was awarded a fellowship to the University of Toronto’s Trinity College.
First ordained as a deacon at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, Conn., Mr. Creamer was ordained into the priesthood and appointed curate at St. James Church in West Hartford, Conn., in 1964.
Before becoming the rector of St. Luke’s Church in 1978, he had been the rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New London, N.H., where he taught for a semester at Colby Junior College. He had previously been the assistant rector of the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City.
Mr. Creamer retired from St. Luke’s in 1996 and he and his wife moved to South Royalton, Vt. Then, in 2001, they moved to Waldoboro, where he became a trustee of the Waldoboro Public Library and a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in nearby Newcastle, Me.
In addition to Mrs. Creamer, Mr. Creamer is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth Figler of Duxbury, Mass., a son, Nathaniel Creamer of Baltimore, and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Church in Newcastle. Memorial donations have been suggested to St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton 11937. Condolences may be shared online by visiting the funeral home website stronghancock.com.