Edward (Ed) Leo Creamer of Spring, Texas, passed away on Monday, January 8, 2024, at the age of 92.

He was the son of Leo Creamer and Dorothy Baird Creamer and was born on December 4, 1931, in Louisiana, Missouri, where he lived until adulthood. He was a lifelong and faithful member of the Catholic Church.

Ed is survived by his wife of 66 years, Alice Ann Shepherd Creamer, whom he married on January 4, 1958, at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Clarksville, Missouri. They have four children: Ann (Alberto) Ron of Houston, Texas; Maureen (Ihor) Bemko of Edinboro, Pennsylvania; Joe (Laura) Creamer of Spring, Texas; and Jack (Karen) Creamer of Bryan, Texas. They also have six grandchildren: Laura Ron (Dermot) Bree, Matthew Ron, Elisa Ron, Zach Creamer, Maria Creamer, and Jake Creamer. Ed is also survived by his sister, Carolyn Creamer Allen, of Fort Worth, Texas, and many nieces and nephews.

Ed graduated from Louisiana High School in 1949 and then Missouri School of Mines (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) in Rolla, Missouri, with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1953 and later completed a master's degree in metallurgy at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1959.

He served in the United States Army from August 1953 until he was discharged at the Presidio of San Francisco in June 1955. He later authored a memoir, A Dogface in Alaska: Surveying and Surviving, about his 6-month assignment with the 660th Engineering Topological Battalion to complete the mapping of pre-statehood Alaska in 1954.

After a summer internship at Shell Oil Company in Wood River, Illinois, in 1953 as well as his military service, he was offered permanent employment as a chemist in the research department in 1956. In 1959 he made a shift from chemical research to applied metallurgy and made this the focus of the rest of his extensive career. He had a passion for metallurgical failure analysis and post fire/explosion damage assessments, and he also became an industry-recognized subject matter expert in many aspects of refining and petrochemical plant piping and pressure vessel materials and welding.

Although Ed's Shell career started in Illinois, it later took him to California and ultimately to Texas. In 1968, he was transferred to Shell's Emeryville, California, facility, and he remained there until it was relocated to Houston, Texas, in 1972. He then spent the next 25 years in Houston (Shell Bellaire Research Center, Shell Westhollow Research Center, and Corporate Head Office) before retiring from Shell in 1997 as their most senior metallurgical consultant. He continued working as an independent metallurgical consultant for an additional 8 years, bringing his nearly 50-year career to a close in 2005.

Ed enjoyed family gatherings with his wife, children, and grandchildren and had many hobbies, including weather-watching, classical music/opera, photography, breadmaking, reminiscing about times/dates and family history, travel and taking walks around the neighborhood, and chatting with his neighbors. He was known by everyone who met him to be a kind, genial, and unassuming man of integrity.

The family is grateful to Ed and Alice's wonderful caregiver, Zeira Becerra and his excellent and caring doctors, Dr. Sandro Sinatora, Dr. Margaret Lang-Williams, and Dr. Steven Napierkowski for the care they have provided.

Catholic Funeral Mass will be held at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 19222 Tomball Parkway, Houston, Texas where he and his family were some of the early parishioners, having joined the parish in 1972, just one year after its founding.

Private burial at Houston National Cemetery

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Life in Mercy Maternity Home https://www.lifeinmercy.org/ or other charity of your choice in memory of the deceased.