John Creasy

FREEPORT — John William Creasy, 71, of Freeport passed unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.

He was born and raised in Honesdale, Pa., completed his undergraduate degree at Colorado State and his doctorate in Geology at Harvard. He was a brilliant and inquisitive man, who was extremely active. He was a kind, patient and gentle soul, who loved teaching, learning and being active outside in any form. He retired three years ago after almost 40 years of teaching Geology at Bates College.

Since retiring, John enjoyed his seasonal job at L.L.Bean in the camping department. He loved keeping up with all of the new technology, as well as nurturing his love of adventure through conversations with his customers and incredible coworkers.

He was a voracious reader, who served on the board of the Freeport Library for a number of years. John and his wife Kathy enjoyed the past two winters walking on the beaches, hiking, biking, kayaking and birding in Florida and looking at rocks in between the mossy spots.

John’s tenure at Bates started in 1975 as chairman of the Geology Department. His vision helped create a special learning environment at Bates that featured a healthy dose of field and lab-based courses, and independent research. He especially enjoyed his five-week trips to the southwestern U.S. with his students and sharing his passion for geology with his students and anyone who would listen.

He was predeceased by his mother, father and his brother, Robert J. Creasy of Los Altos, Calif.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy Bither of Freeport; his son, Matthew of Denver; and his daughters, Kris Konecki of Freeport and Ruth Konecki of Bridgton. He is also survived by his four grandchildren, niece, nephew and many cousins.

Visitation will be held at Lindquist Funeral Home in Yarmouth on Thursday, June 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. A celebration of John’s life will be on Friday, June 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. Please e-mail rbitherbroene@yahoo.com for directions.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to the Bates College Bouley Fund (www.bates.edu/giving/).