Posted under Uncategorized
Earlier this morning I got a phone call from an old contact of mine in the Constitution Party. As soon as I heard his voice, I knew exactly why he called. Our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Frank W. Creel, passed away from cancer (May 18th). I was on his campaign staff in 2002 when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives against liberal Republican Tom Davis. I remember vividly traveling around the congressional district in Northern Virginia with the other activists in the Constitution Party, using whatever time off I had to help out with the campaign. I was a freshman in my first semester in college and this was my very first campaign. I’ll never forget it.
Frank was a quiet man, but he had a quick wit and a unique sense of humor. He was a Vietnam veteran, having served in the Army as an infantry officer. His experience in war was the catalyst in the development of his solid pro-life stance. What I admired most about Frank were his unwavering convictions, especially when it came to defending the unborn. Before he went to Vietnam, he was in the Peace Corps for several years, volunteering in Turkey. Frank attended the University of Chicago where he earned a PhD in comparative politics of the Middle East. He spent most of his career as a civil servant, working for the U.S. Department of Commerce in the International Trade Administration.
An avid writer, Frank’s involvement in politics was really sparked when he began writing opinion pieces for our local newspaper, the Potomac News. Other works of his were published in The Washington Times and the New York City Tribune. In the last years of his life, he was a contributor to the Washington Examiner (there’s an online archive of his most recent writings courtesy of Fran Griffin). In the lead up to the Iraq War, Frank had the courage to run for Congress as a conservative, anti-war candidate. While we did not prevail that year, we took satisfaction that our campaign exposed Tom Davis as a liberal establishmentarian.
After the election was over, I got a letter from the campaign with Frank’s reflections on what happened throughout the race in the 11th District. He thanked everyone for their time, money, effort, and perseverance. He gave us an overall picture of the situation and how things could have been different. Reading over this letter again today, I can still sense his profound disappointment that he did not do better at the polls. At the bottom of the letter, Frank personally gave me a handwritten message:
Josh,
You were a real soldier. I’ll be pulling for you in all your future battles. Many thanks.
–Frank
I didn’t know Frank as well as I should have. Part of that was his introverted personality and his humble nature. I only wish I could have spent more time getting to know him better. Even so, he was always very fond of me and appreciated all of my efforts during his campaign. He never had raw ambition or a desire to seek power for its own sake. Frank spent most of his life in service to his country and just wanted to do his part to help bring America back to its Constitutional foundations. It was an honor for me to know someone of such character and caliber as Frank Creel. He will be greatly missed.
RedPhillips on 21 May 2010 at 2:52 am #
A very moving tribute. May he RIP.
Fran on 21 May 2010 at 3:51 am #
Very nice tribute. I also worked in the 2002 campaign and found him to be a man of great principle, never compromising his beliefs for any political gain.
I was fortunate to see Frank quite a bit over the past few months, mainly at St. James Catholic Church and St. John the Beloved Catholic Church. He told me quite calmly about 5 weeks ago that his doctor said he had about a month to live unless his white blood cell count were to start going down (the number was off the charts. I still don’t know how he was able to function with such a high count.)
Frank was a man of great faith. He accepted his impending death with courage, never complaining, but just kept doing as much as he could right up to the end. He played a game of golf (another passion of his) last week. He went to daily Mass. He wrote columns. He played with his beloved grandchildren. He did not focus on himself or feel sorry for himself but just kept living his life the way it should be lived.
Frank was also a loyal supporter of the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation to which he contributed numerous articles over the past couple of years (the archive to which Josh refers can be found at http://www.fgfBooks.com, the foundation website).
The reality of his passing has not yet hit me, but I have a sense of calmness about it as I know he is with his Maker.
Kirt Higdon on 21 May 2010 at 4:12 am #
Tonight I went to see a friend of mine who is very active in the Constitution Party, but was told he had left the state for a few days to attend the funeral of a friend. Perhaps the friend referred to was Dr. Creel. Or not. I don’t really know, but in any event may Dr. Creel and all the faithful departed rest in peace.