LITTLESTOWN James Robert Creel, 78, passed away on Thursday, July 4, 2013 at Transitions Healthcare in Gettysburg following a lengthy illness. He was born on March 9, 1935 in Rappahannock, Virginia. Robert was the son of the late Fisher Lee Creel and Mary Elizabeth Leake and proudly traced his heritage to the pioneer settlers of Virginia’s Piedmont River Valley.

Growing up in Culpeper, Virginia, he worked as a tree surgeon in his teens for L. L. White Tree Experts and moved north when the business relocated to Littlestown. Not long after that, he met his late wife Pauline at Forest Park in Hanover and they were married in 1956. They moved to their home on Fish & Game Road in Littlestown in the mid-1960’s, where Bob continued to live after remarrying until suffering a stroke in 2011.

He enjoyed being outdoors and especially loved caring for his own trees. Robert was quite a handyman and auto mechanic and he enjoyed spending time riding motorcycles with his son, David. In his later years, he found a love for animals and shared his home with his much-loved “herd” of cats. His charm and wry sense of humor will be greatly missed.

Robert is survived by his son, David Eugene Creel and his wife Daena of York Springs; his sister, Hazel Southard of Cincinnati, Ohio and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 38 years, Pauline May Lehigh; his second wife, Delores Richardson Shultz; his brother, Milton Fisher Creel; his sisters, Emma Lee Jones, Maggie Frances Short, Peggy May Butler, and Elizabeth Gayle Hawkins.

Funeral service will be Tues. July 9 at 11 AM at Little’s Funeral Home, Littlestown with Pastor Mike Hammer of Celebration Community Church, Dillsburg, officiating. Viewings  6-8 Mon and 10-11 Tues at the funeral home. Interment will be in Rest Haven Cemetery, Hanover. Memorials in Robert’s name may be sent to Adams County SPCA, 11 Goldenville Rd., Gettysburg, PA  17325.  Online condolences may be shared on www.littlesfh.com.