William Creighton - Obituary

illiam (‘Bill’) Wendel Creighton passed away peacefully Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at his home in Fort Washington, MD after coping with multiple severe health challenges.Bill was born December 5, 1937 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the eldest son of the Rt. Rev. William Forman Creighton and Marie Louise Forrest. He graduated from Marietta College with a B.A. in economics. While at Marietta he rowed on the Varsity Crew, and held summer jobs with the Coast And Geodetic Survey in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. Bill then completed the major requirements for M.B.A. in accounting at American University in 1959. After college, Bill served in the US Navy as line officer on destroyers in the North Pacific and Far East. Bill then went on to work as an accountant at Price Waterhouse. Next he turned to Commercial Real Estate, first as a Salesman and Consultant, then Broker. He served as Vice President of a bank in Delaware and he built a few custom homes in Maryland and Virginia. In 1989 Bill started Creighton Associates, A Commercial Real Estate Asset Management and Brokerage Company. He was an Independent Commercial Real Estate Management Consultant for mortgage investors, banks and many large property development projects, working with foreign and domestic investors. He retired in 2010 to focus on home and family. During his career he headed the development of Tantallon, the subdivision plan, Marina and Country Club, in Fort Washington, Maryland, and oversaw the completion of the project. There he and an associate mapped out and named all the roads, including’ Creighton Circle’, and he also built a few of his custom homes. He consulted on many large commercial real estate projects resulting in large auto service complexes in Maryland. Later he helped many new start-up business owners in Prince Georges County, Maryland get their businesses off the ground. However, one of Bill’s favorite accomplishments was his involvement in the mapping of the Aleutian Islands as part of the Coast And Geodetic Survey. William enjoyed restoring classic automobiles, a pastime he was able to share with his sons. He also enjoyed Jaguar cars and activities at the Jaguar Club with his wife, Joan. He enjoyed sailing and fishing, gardening, and Sunday dinners with as many family members and extended family could show up. Bill, with his wife Joan, who was his business partner at Creighton Associates, very much enjoyed the restoration and remodeling of their home to accommodate the ever-growing family on those Sunday visits. Bill is survived by his devoted wife Joan, who was also his loving caregiver during the last challenging year; and by his children, Mary, Ben, Ceci, Rob, Sarah and William; his grandchildren, Christie, Jessica, Joel, Tiffany, Benjamin, Mitch, Jake, Jeremy, Andrew, Joey, William, Leah, and James; his brothers, Michael and Max, many nieces and nephews and two great-grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church Broad Creek, 9801 Livingston Rd., Fort Washington, MD 20744. Memorial contributions can be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, The Hospice Chesapeake.