Cecil Osborn Creal (December 19, 1899 – November 20, 1986) was

mayor of Ann Arbor This is a list of mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning with Ann Arbor's incorporation as a city on April 4, 1851. References Ann Arbor mayors, Political Graveyard website* Samuel W. Beakes, Past and Present of Washtenaw County' (Washtenaw C ...

, in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, from 1959 to 1965.

Life and career

Creal was born in 1899 in Kiantone,

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. Creal married Dama Godfrey of Ann Arbor in 1925. He was an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. Creal had two sons, Richard and Robert. Under Ann Arbor's old system of municipal governance, Creal served as President of the Ann Arbor Common Council (City Council) for multiple terms. The council president presided at the meetings then. The mayor under that system was more of a ceremonial figurehead, who had power of veto over council decisions, but did not attend the meetings. Creal ran for

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

mayor as a Republican in 1959. He defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Lloyd M. Ives, and was sworn in on April 10, 1959. Creal went on to win two more terms, triumphing over Democrats Dorothee S. Pealy in 1961 and Albert F. Schneider in 1963. Creal did not run for a fourth term in 1965. Creal died in Ann Arbor on November 20, 1986, and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery. Ann Arbor's Creal Park and Creal Crescent are both named after Mayor Creal.

References

Sources

Mayors of Ann Arbor page
at ''PoliticalGraveyard.com'' *Arborwe

* 1899 births 1986 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan Michigan Republicans 20th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century Michigan politicians Episcopalians from Michigan 20th-century mayors of places in Michigan {{Michigan-mayor-stub