James was born in Sweeny, Texas on April 13, 1944 to Opal (Dodson) and George Creel and passed away Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
He was the youngest of three sons. After being a multisport athlete at Sweeney High School, James served in the US Navy from January 1961-March 1965.
Upon his return, he began working as a welder and then went into construction. James spent the majority of his life working as a construction superintendent for Sentry Construction, his own company JWC Consultants, Williams Development, and finally J. E. Kingham Construction. He supervised the construction of countless grocery stores and shopping centers across the state, but loved to build schools the most. His last project before retirement was the completion of the H.G. Temple Elementary/Intermediate Campus in Diboll, Texas.
James married Bulah (Stanaland) on August 28, 1970 at Pine Valley Congregational Methodist Church. Our father always joked that our mom was his favorite person to irritate, and in true fashion they were married 49 years and 355 days-just 10 days shy of their 50th anniversary. Together they had two daughters and a son. James loved fishing, especially at Matagorda Bay.
James was preceded in death by his parents and both brothers (Colonel Joel D. Creel and Lyndon R. Creel), as well as his in-laws, Ruell and Jossie Stanaland.
James is survived by Bulah, his wife of almost 50 years, as well as his son and his three daughters: James Ruell Creel, Debra Creel, Dawn (Tony) Short, and Karen (Rick) Van Wilgen. He also leaves behind five granddaughters: Sarah (Steven) McCaslin, Hana Short, Hailey Short, Caitlyn Van Wilgen, and Kylie Van Wilgen as well as two great-grandsons Bentley and Cannon Derby. He also leaves behind: his sisters-in-law, Rudy and Gloria Creel, niece Shannon Canton, nephews, George and Douglas Creel, cousins, Richard and Rodney Weems, and their respective families.
The family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at Gipson Funeral Home.
Condolences may be offered at www.gipsonfuneralhome.com
Services have been placed in the trust of Gipson Funeral Home.
