Herbert “Herb” Stanley Creed was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Victor and Anne Creed.
He was the second of five children. The Creed family moved to Minot, North Dakota, when Herb was just 3 years old. There, his parents managed the Minot Country Club where he not only learned the skills of groundskeeping and caddying during his adolescence, but also developed a mean golf swing of his own. Very active in sports throughout his life, he skated the Mouse River during the frigid North Dakota winters, played mischievous pranks with his brothers and friends, and — most notably — played football both for the Minot Model High School Beaver Kits and later for Minot State Teachers College.
Herb graduated from Minot Model High in 1953. Then, after one year of college and football, enlisted in the Army. He served at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, from 1955 to 1957 where he worked as a mechanic in the motor pool. He also had duties at White Sands, New Mexico, and loved to tell stories about the time he found a tarantula in his sleeping bag!
Completing his service with an honorable discharge, Herb returned to Minot where he earned his bachelor’s degree while continuing to play football. It was there that he met and married a very cute nurse, his longtime love and best friend, Jackie Browning. After college, he worked as assistant park superintendent for Minot's Roosevelt Park where he was in charge of all park maintenance as well as the city's zoo. He often reminisced about actually seeing a baby kangaroo, a joey, being born. "How many people get to see that?" he'd say with a chuckle.
With the addition of their son, Geoff, born in 1959, and daughter, Laurie, in 1962, Herb and Jackie lived in Minot until making the choice to venture to the Pacific Northwest.
They moved their young family to Pe Ell in 1965 when Herb started his teaching career at Pe Ell High School. Throughout his 25 years as an educator — all of it with the Pe Ell School District — Herb touched many students' lives and made longstanding and fast friendships with fellow teachers. He enjoyed his career immensely, earning a master’s degree in business education at Western Washington State College during the first phase of his career. In 1970, Herb and Jackie bought property and built a home in the Adna area. It was here where they raised their kids, became a part of the community and developed many friendships that last to this day.
Thrifty to a fault, Herb was nonetheless a kind, sweet and generous man. He loved a good limerick, writing many for family and friends. He also loved to strum his guitar and sing, write funny tunes and enjoy the old-timey country/western genre. Hank Williams was his favorite! Herb was a home-body, but did travel to both England and Australia with Jackie and friends. But mostly he loved camping, hunting, fishing, caring for his home and property, and riding his Harley! He was a charter member of the Adna Lions Club, serving proudly during the heyday of that club's famous Clam and Corn Feed at the Adna Grange. He was also an avid Mariners and Seahawks fan, especially toward the end of this life.
Herb was preceded in death by his parents and, sadly, by his son, Geoff, in 1997. He is survived by his wife and life partner of 64 years, Jackie, their daughter, Laurie Holst, and her husband, Chuck, of Corvallis, Oregon. He is also survived by his one and only grandchild — of whom he was so proud — Saul Boulanger, of Washington, D.C.
His surviving siblings include Victor Creed, of Klamath Falls, Oregon; Bob Creed, of Eugene, Oregon; Carol Dick, of Lakewood, Washington; and Joan Kampen of St. George, Utah. His surviving in-laws include Fred and Devona Browning, of Bismarck, North Dakota, and Eileen and Ken Wehr, of Denver, Colorado, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Herb passed at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia from unforeseen heart complications. He will be deeply missed. A memorial is being planned and will be advertised soon. Remembrance donations can be made to the Adna Lions Club at P.O. Box 25, Adna, Washington, 98522.
