John Creedon was born in Brooklyn, New York, April 12, 1902. He was the son of Timothy Creedon and Hannah Cadogan. His family returned to Dunkerron, Kenmare, Ireland where all of his siblings except his older sister, Julia "Mamie" who was born in Boston. His other siblings were Clara, Dan, Pat, and Timothy. He attended school in Dunkerron under the Sisters of St. Claire (The Poor Claires) until third grade and was then under the Christian Brothers. The family moved between the States and Ireland several times and lived in New York, New Hampshire, and Maine. His father, a stonecutter, wanted all of his sons to have two trades. John learned to cut stone and apprenticed as a plasterer in Ireland. When he returned to the States as a young man, he again apprenticed as a plasterer. He was well versed in the old hand-mixed mortar using horse dung and hair with wood lath and the more modern methods. He was able to do very elaborate decorative work and, at the age of 65, was hired by the Architect of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., then Mr. Steward, where he worked until his retirement at the age of 73 when he retired to care for his wife whose health had deteriorated to the point that she was on crutches with heavy leg braces and unable to use the stairs. During the time he was at the Capitol, Alaska and Hawaii became states. He made a mold of one of the stars representing the then-existing 48 states in the Senate, made the stars to represent the new states and put them in the Senate ceiling with the others. He was recognized by the Chief Justice for repairing a replica of the Supreme Court that was being moved from the Capitol and dropped. Upon completion, the repairs were not visible and the Chief Justice was very pleased.
He married Eleanor "Loretta Faulconer in 1941. They had one daughter and moved to Florida to be near her and her children when John retired. His wife died in 1979. He continued to live in Riverview, Florida, until 1985 when he moved with his daughter and son-in-law in Texas, later moving to Arkansas with them. He was healthy most of his life and was very active into his 90s often "caught" by his daughter cutting brush in the hot Arkansas summers when she returned from work. He died after several "mini-strokes" over about a three-month period in December of 1995. He is buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Tampa, Florida, next to his wife, Loretta.
He married Eleanor "Loretta Faulconer in 1941. They had one daughter and moved to Florida to be near her and her children when John retired. His wife died in 1979. He continued to live in Riverview, Florida, until 1985 when he moved with his daughter and son-in-law in Texas, later moving to Arkansas with them. He was healthy most of his life and was very active into his 90s often "caught" by his daughter cutting brush in the hot Arkansas summers when she returned from work. He died after several "mini-strokes" over about a three-month period in December of 1995. He is buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Tampa, Florida, next to his wife, Loretta.
