Ernest LeRoy Creech

He was born February 6, 1927 to Bertha Lucas and Walter A. Creech in Smithfield, North Carolina. He had 5 brothers and a sister, Percy, James, Ruth, Edward, Tom, and Joe.

He married the love of his life, Bernice Hammons, on July 7, 1951. They were married for 37 years when she passed away. They had one daughter, Sandra (Sandy) Creech. Roy was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and all his siblings.

He was a member of Centenary Methodist Church in Smithfield, North Carolina, and attended Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee for many years.

He attended Southern College of Watchmaking in Memphis, and graduated in 1949. He also graduated from Draughon’s College in 1976, with an associate degree in Business Management.

He was a WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veteran. He served in WWII as a Merchant Marine on a hospital ship, the USS Shamrock. After the war he joined the Army for 2 years, then he enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 and retired from the Air Force in 1970 as a SMSgt. His career field was electronics. As an electronic technician, he worked on many aircraft to include F111, F105 and C133. During the Vietnam War he was stationed in Japan and Takhli Thailand. In Takhli, he was the NCO in charge of the avionics section where his wing flew 60 missions into Vietnam every day. He received the Air Force Commendation medal for meritorious service while in Thailand. After retirement from the Air Force, he opened Creech’s Jewelry in Memphis. He was in business for 25 years until his retirement in 1997.

He was a Master Mason for 63 years, and was a member of Bartlett Masonic Lodge #211.

Roy leaves a daughter, Sandy Creech, a sister-in-law, May Jewell Hammons, a brother-in-law, Bobby Hammons, many nieces and nephews, and many friends.

A celebration of Roy’s life will be Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at Memphis Funeral Home Poplar Chapel. Visitation will be from 12:00-1:00 pm, a celebration of life service at 1:00pm, followed by entombment in Memorial Park Mausoleum with military honors.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Forever Young Veterans (FYV), a nonprofit which honors WWII, Korea, and Vietnam Veterans. Roy was honored with several trips of honor for his service, and FYV was dear to his heart. Foreveryoungvets.org or mailing address: 201 South Center Street #200, Collierville, Tennessee, 38017.