Birth Date: 05/20/1920
Deceased Date: 04/22/2022
Mary Overman Creech, 101, formerly of Pine Level, NC, died early Friday, April 22, 2022 in Birmingham AL. Mary was born on May 20, 1920 to the late Allen and Florence Overman of Princeton, NC, as the eighth of ten children. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression taught Mary how to make a little bit go a long way, and the value of thankfulness. She would recount how at times she was jealous of store-bought peanut butter and crackers, only later to realize how others were jealous of her homemade biscuits.
Mary married Clyde Creech in 1940, and together they settled in Pine Level. She worked for years at Norwich Mills in Clayton, working many different machines to fill absences or to lend an extra hand where needed. She was active in Pine Level Missionary Baptist Church as a member of the Ann Judson Sunday School Class, and was particularly proud of the Thanksgiving dinner that for years her class would cook and serve to the older members of the church. Never one to stay idle, Mary set up the living room of her house to make quilts each winter. She would crochet intricate pieces, including bed spreads, that looked more like lace than crochet. And she filled her yard and her house with all sorts of flowers and green plants. Both she and Clyde had a large vegetable garden, from which they shared with friends and neighbors. She always allowed him to take credit for the tomatoes, while she made sure that there was always a good crop of green beans, her favorite.
Mary is survived by two children, Donna Rice and husband Carlton, Lee Creech and wife Beth Meyer, and a daughter-in-law, Linda Creech Matthews. She leaves behind three grandchildren, Carl Rice, Allan Rice and wife Kelly, and Chad Creech and wife Karen, and two great-grandchildren, Henry and Cooper Rice. She is preceded in death by her husband Clyde Creech, a son Robert (Bobby) Creech, grandchildren, Tim Creech and Anthony Rice, as well as her four brothers and five sisters.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that she be remembered through memorial gifts to Pine Level Missionary Baptist Church.
May light perpetual shine upon her.
A graveside service will be held in Selma Memorial Gardens on Saturday April 30, 2022 at 10 am.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at Parrishfh.com
