Paul was born August 13, 1917 in LaCenter, WA to Nevada & Mason Creel, the 4th child & first son of a happy, busy family. He had 3 older sisters & eventually 2 younger brothers & a younger sister. His mom & dad taught him about caring for plants & animals so by the time he was 13 he was driving a team of horses plowing and harvesting the fields as well as caring for a young apple orchard. The family moved to British Columbia Canada around 1930 and while there he helped his dad fell huge trees to be made into log houses in their community of Pender Harbor. He loved fishing in the sound & often took his little sister with him. Eventually the family moved back to Oregon, & his ability to handle horses got him a job handling a combine on a large grain ranch. During that time he met & married his love, Nellie Rowe. Their first home was on that ranch where Nellie cooked for the crew & gave birth to the first of their 3 children.
During WWII Paul took his wife & daughter to Seattle where he worked for the Navy repairing airplane motors for amphibious planes. They chose the Rogue Valley in 1949, & even more specifically, Talent which is where their children, Colleen, Paulette & Dennis completed their education. Paul & Nellie bought a house on the road that would be later named Creel Road in 1949 & lived & remodeled the house until it was sold in 2018. Paul had farm animals, milked a cow, raised pigs & chickens & rabbits but also planted several fruit trees, raised a beautiful garden & created a park like yard for the family & friends to enjoy. He loved God & was a very active member of the Christian Church in Ashland. Paul worked & retired from Boise Cascade Sawmill, and gradually put together a wonderful woodshop with tools for making toys & furniture. Family was always a priority for him with biannual reunions of the Creel Clan, & any holiday celebration or ball games he could get to.
Paul will be greatly missed by his children, Colleen Ferns, Paulette Hendrickson & Dennis Creel, & his legacy of kids, grandkids, great grandkids, & great great grandkids.
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