Bob Creal was born in Ann Arbor in 1936, attended Ann Arbor High School and then the UM where he received degrees in Business Administration and Law. He proposed to his wife Patty after just 6 dates and, after serving 3 years in the US Army JAG legal corps, they returned to Ann Arbor to raise their four children where he practiced as an attorney.
Bob learned early in life from his family the importance of being an active member of his community. He served on the boards of Lurie Terrace, the PTOs at Stone School and Tappan, the Washtenaw Historical Society and chaired the Milan Council on Aging.
Although he grew up attending St. Andrew’s, he and Patty joined the newly formed parish of St. Clare’s in 1965 and he rapidly became a leader in the congregation. In early 1969, when Bob was Senior Warden (the first of his THREE terms), the rabbi of Temple Beth Emeth, Bruce Warshal, approached the St. Clare’s rector, the Reverend Colin Campbell, about renting the church’s newly completed sanctuary for temple services on Friday nights. Bob and Allyn Kantor, a lawyer from TBE, negotiated a single page lease agreement whereby the temple paid a portion of the church’s mortgage and monthly utility payments.
In early 1974, when Bob was again Senior Warden, Rabbi Warshal proposed to the rector, the Rev. Doug Evett, that the temple purchase a half interest in the church facilities, becoming co-owners. When Doug asked Bob for his opinion of the idea, Bob said “Let’s do it!” Following months of discussions with the members, a congregational meeting was held in June at which the concept of joint ownership was approved by 85% of those voting. A committee of 3 St. Clarians and 3 members of the temple met to agree upon issues such as the joint entity’s structure, governance, property management and maintenance. Once these had been approved by the Vestry and TBE board, the committee approved the name for the new corporation as “Genesis of Ann Arbor”. As the only attorney on the committee, Bob offered to draft the Genesis Agreement, including its Preamble that explained the aspirations of new endeavor.
It reads in part:
“Although the world has always been torn by distrust, suspicion, waste, prejudice and the threat of economic upheaval and war, its citizens are today becoming more aware of the absolute need to trust, conserve, believe, give and love if we and our heirs are to survive as the children of God. Both the Temple and St. Clare’s believe that by jointly owning and sharing the same facilities for their various worship and nonworship activities, they are demonstrating that out of their act of faith and trust can be found a significant mutuality of understanding”.
In no small part due to Bob’s efforts, the Genesis Articles of Incorporation were registered with the MI Department of Commerce on 12/23/74, less than a year after the idea was proposed.
