John W. Creen

John W. Creen, the man, the myth, the legend, was taken too soon following his courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. John, 73, of Davenport, died Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at his home surrounded by his family.

Keeping with his wishes, a private memorial mass was held for John at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Ohl Strong Pancreatic Cancer Foundation at www.ohlstrong.org.

John William Creen was born on September 5, 1951 in Peoria, Illinois, a son of Joseph Costa and Patricia Marie (Marsh) Creen. He graduated from Benedictine College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. John was united in marriage to Patricia A. “Patti” Schnack on October 1, 1983 at Christ the King Chapel at St. Ambrose University. John and Patti shared 41 wonderful years of marriage together.

John enjoyed a 40-year career as a pharmaceutical rep for Syntex Labs, Schering-Plough, and Merck. He retired in 2015. He also maintained properties as a landlord, working hard to help his tenants live comfortably.

John was a member at St. Paul the Apostle and St. Anthony Catholic Churches. He enjoyed volunteering with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) where he found great joy in charitable service, especially driving senior citizens around to look at Christmas displays.

John coached his children in basketball, volleyball, softball, and baseball in their youth, and always made time to help in extracurricular activities.

One of John’s greatest joys in life was being an amazing Poppy for his grandchildren: Elliot and Owen Hillebrand and Bennett, AJ, and Beckham Oldaker.

Those left to honor his memory are his wife, Patti, Davenport; children: Katie (Anthony) Hillebrand, New Palestine, Indiana, Kelsey (Brandon) Oldaker, Naperville, Illinois, and Kenton Creen, Iowa City, Iowa; his father, Joseph (Pat Maas) Creen, Cedar Rapids; siblings: Joe (Connie) Creen, Davenport, Tom Creen, Bettendorf, Peggy (Mike) Jung, Sioux City, Iowa, Barb (Bob) Sieck, Center Point, Iowa, Genie (Brad) Hamilton, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Dave (Thuy) Creen, Ann Arbor, Michigan, his grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

John was preceded in death by his mother, Pat Creen. 

The Creen family would like to thank everyone with UnityPoint Hospice for the compassionate care they shared with John.