Darwin Wayne (Buster) Creagh died Tuesday, Aug. 16, surrounded by members of his loving family. Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at 201 Dalton Circle, St. Paul the Apostle Chapel in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, burial will follow at Lakeland Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 1805 Hwy 281, in Marble Falls, Texas.
He was born March 23, 1933, in Hearne, Texas to James and Alma Creagh, the fifth of seven children.
As a young boy in Breckenridge, he developed a keen interest in golf. He helped mow the greens and caddied at Breckenridge Country Club in the early 1940s.
After graduating from Breckenridge High School in 1951, he joined the United State Marine Corps and served in Korea. After being discharged from the Marine Corps, he attended North Texas State College and graduated in 1960. At North Texas he met his future wife, Linda Truitt, and they married in 1961.
After graduation he was hired as an assistant football coach by Emory Ballard at San Angelo Central High School. After one year he moved back to the area and taught biology and coached at Lewisville High School. He had maintained his interest in golf over the years, and after work he drove to Denton Country Club. The golf course had been dormant for a number of years, but a small group of men began to rejuvenate the course. Buster would lay out new fairways, build the greens, water the greens and fairways and mow grass. On August 5, 1961 the nine-hole course was officially re-opened. He continued his teaching career while working part-time at Denton Country Club. In 1963 he was hired as the full-time golf pro at the club. During his eight years at DCC, he supervised the construction of the back nine holes and started the Denton Pro-Am golf tournament.
In 1971 he was hired by the City of Richardson as head golf pro to develop the new Sherrill Park Golf Course, which opened in 1973. It was so successful a second 18-hole course was added later. He resigned from Sherrill Park in 1987. He retired for a couple of years, but this did not suit Buster’s continued active interest in golf. He soon developed another new golf course in Austin, Bluebonnet Hill Golf Club, which opened in 1989. He actively managed the course while commuting from his new home in Horseshoe Bay until he retired in 2001. He continued to visit the course several times a week until he moved back to Denton in 2015.
Buster recently achieved a major milestone as a member of the Professional Golf Association for over 50 years. He has taught literally thousands of people the fundamentals of golf by giving numerous lessons over his 50 year career. If you were out on the driving range and Buster was around, you often got a free lesson whether you wanted one or not. He was a born teacher, a great promoter of golf, and well-respected member of the Texas professional golf community.
Those who knew him were subject to his great sense of humor and passion for life. Practical jokes, a quarter bet on a golf tournament, the Dallas Cowboys, and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys were just a small glimpse of his favorite pastimes.
He is survived by two daughters; Laura Elaine Creagh and her partner Catherine Brown of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Shelley Lynn Cross Anthony and her husband Dean Anthony of Denton. He is also survived by three grandchildren; Lauren Michelle Cross and her husband Brian Reed of Denton, Creagh Ryne Cross and his partner Shelby Day of Los Angeles and Truitt Henderson Cross and his wife Shelby Cross of Fort Worth; and three great-grandchildren; Kenadee Ann Cross, Covin Creagh Cross and Quincy Em Cross.
He is survived by sister-n-law Ruth Ann Creagh and numerous nieces and nephews.
Thank you to Dr. Sandra Petersen, Silverado Memory Care, and Heritage Hospice for the loving and diligent care for our dad, granddad, and friend.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the PGA Foundation (100 Avenue of the Champions, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418); the Alzheimer’s Association (P.O. Box 96011 Washington, D.C. 20090); or Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (2222 Welborn St., Dallas, TX 75219).