William Leslie Creech | Sept. 29, 1913-Oct. 25, 1981

William Leslie Creech William Leslie Creech was born Sept. 29, 1913, and died Oct. 25, 1981. He married Pauline Barbour in December 1932 in Dillon, SC.
Leslie's children with Pauline Barbour Creech
Kenneth Ray Creech
Keith Gray Creech
William Joseph Creech Aug. 26, 1941 Durham, NC-June 8, 2020 Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC; Buried in Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, Durham, NC
Linda Gail Creech Moran

William Leslie Creech

William Leslie Creech was born Sept. 29, 1913, and died Oct. 25, 1981. He married Pauline Barbour in December 1932 in Dillon, SC.

Leslie's children with Pauline Barbour Creech

Kenneth Ray Creech

Keith Gray Creech

William Joseph Creech Aug. 26, 1941 Durham, NC-June 8, 2020 Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC; Buried in Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, Durham, NC

Linda Gail Creech Moran

Early Life and Childhood Mischief

William Leslie Creech was born on September 29, 1913, in Johnston County, North Carolina. He was the oldest child of Manley and Lillian Stancil Creech. Leslie grew up alongside his four siblings: Creola Beatrice Creech, Joseph Worth Creech, Joseph Manley Creech Jr., and Paul Douglas Creech.

As a boy, Leslie had fair skin, blue eyes, and noticeable freckles, which he reportedly disliked intensely due to teasing. In one memorable childhood incident, his father, Manley, jokingly suggested that fresh cow manure would get rid of the freckles. Young Leslie, taking the advice literally, smeared the foul-smelling manure all over his face. When his father saw him, he threatened to whip him, but his mother, Lillian, intervened, asserting that Manley was the cause of the prank. Leslie was described as being about 5'8" tall and weighing around 160 pounds as an adult.

Marriage and Starting a Family

In December 1932, Leslie married Pauline Barbour in Dillon, South Carolina. Dillon was a popular spot for quick elopements, and they were accompanied by Leslie's sister, Creola (who was called Chris by her brothers), and her boyfriend, Joseph Earl Capps.

Leslie and Pauline began their family relatively quickly. Their first child, Kenneth Ray Creech, was born on November 30, 1933. They later welcomed Keith Gray Creech on May 21, 1936, William "Billy Joe" Joseph Creech on August 26, 1941, and Linda Gail Creech on August 3, 1945, completing their family of four children.

Farming, War Years, and Career

Leslie's father passed away in 1934, and Leslie continued the family's tradition of farming. When World War II began, Leslie did not enlist or get drafted; he remained home to farm, while he watched his brothers go off to war.

After the war, Leslie transitioned from farming to painting. He worked as a painter in the Norfolk shipyard and later at Camp Buckner near Durham and on Army barracks at Fort Bragg.

However, Leslie's most significant and enduring career was as a tobacco auctioneer, a profession he dedicated 36 years to. In 1971, for instance, he was working in Kinston, North Carolina, demonstrating the travel and demand associated with his work.

Later Years and Legacy

William Leslie Creech experienced a long illness before his passing at the age of 68 on October 25, 1981, at Durham General Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. He was a longtime member of the Calvary Baptist Church. Leslie was laid to rest in Oak Grove Memorial Gardens in Durham.

Pauline Barbour Creech passed away on February 2, 1988, in Durham, North Carolina. She is also buried beside her husband, Leslie, in Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, Durham County, North Carolina.

Leslie and Pauline's life together, centered on family and community, contributed to the fabric of North Carolina's rural and working life.

The Smithfield Herald, Tuesday, December 15, 1981

Leslie Creech deserved master's degree for love

Giovannia C. Creech remembers her father's compassion

During the past 21 years of my life, I came to know one of the greatest men in the world. He was not a scholar, a military figure, or a man of great monetary worth. Yet the Christian life he lived before his family and friends was far above any riches this world could ever possess.

He never finished school or college, but Leslie Creech could have attained a master's degree in what love was all about.

In the past few months of his travail and suffering, I grew to love him more. I counted it an honor and pleasure to help care for him. His sweet and grateful mannerisms no one will ever forget. Even though his life was reaching its final moment, he never forgot to thank the respiratory therapist for helping him.

The doctors and nurses and all those who cared for him repeatedly remarked, "I've never seen anyone like him. If he wasn't so kind and grateful, it wouldn't hurt us so much."

Yes, he was a fighter, not a loser-a real soldier, in a sense.

We must be thankful for the sunshine of his life he has left to us all; but for a long time it will be raining in my heart.

He was by far the greatest father-in-law a girl could ever have.

NOTE: The writer of the letter above is the daughter-in-law of Leslie Creech, a 68-year-old native of the Selma area who died October 25 in Durham. His wife was Pauline Barbour, also of the Selma area. They moved to Durham in 1945, where he worked as a tobacco auctioneer.

GIOVANNIA CRAWFORD CREECH