One Wyoming Life
SALLY ANN SHURMUR Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 12:00 am
It was a Lambeau Field tailgate like none other.
From the processional music provided by "KISS" blasting through the cavernous church to the pallbearers dressed in Green Bay Packer garb, including one actual cheesehead, the celebration of life for Dan Creger, 47, was anything but "regular."
But then, he certainly wasn't a regular guy.
During visitation just prior to the celebration in the church proper, Creger's mother, Carolyn, was busy introducing Casper friends to relatives from Iowa, some of whom were Vikings and Bears fans but nearly all of whom had dressed in Packer clothes to honor Dan for the day.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen, but it ought to be something," she predicted.
Creger died Oct. 26, 2007, of esophageal cancer, a final fate seemingly crueler than his birth Dec. 9, 1959, with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (congenital limb malformations.)
Until he was a sophomore in high school, he walked minimally with leg braces and assistance. Because of scoliosis, a rod was inserted in his back and he never walked again.
But boy, did he motor around in his series of souped-up wheelchairs.
He worked for the federal government for more than 20 years, had not been on Social Security disability insurance for more than 25 years and qualified for no help financially. He lived independently with caregivers and bought cars he couldn't drive.
His cousin, Alan Ritchie, handed out rubber bracelets that say, "Celebrate Ability - Disability Awareness." He approached the lectern at First United Methodist Church to present the eulogy dressed in a sport coat, tie and dress shirt, jeans and boots. He then removed his coat, dress shirt and tie, revealing a black KISS T-shirt.
He affirmed that the large crowd had chosen to attend not because of his cousin's disability, but because of his ability to be a great family member, friend and coworker.
Dan's parents, John and Carolyn (Barnett) Creger, began their new family in their native Iowa. His parents, Dan and his two younger brothers, Dave and Doug, moved to Casper in 1971 when Dan was in the fifth grade.
In Casper, there were challenges for a physically challenged kid with a wonderful - if mischievous - mind.
In the beginning, his parents pushed him to school in his wheelchair because the school district did not provide wheelchair transportation.
Later, he chose a junior high with steps because that's where his friends went. Before long, his friends became his personal aides, helping with feeding, personal needs and lugging up the stairs.
At his parents' request, a permanent cement ramp was installed at the front of Natrona County High School, which remains today. His parents also asked the city to designate a handicapped parking spot in the street in front of the school, and it was the first handicapped spot in the city.
He swam in a handicapped swimming program started at the YMCA by his parents.
It says something about a person when friendships made early in life are sustained throughout. School buddies Ken Harris, Jeff Maddy and Steve Cotton played major roles in his life.
Jude Carino, Dale Ford and Kate Sprecher met Dan through work and shared his loves of music and sports, particularly hard rock in Carino's case and the Green Bay Packers in Sprecher's.
Marcus Frederiksen has the same physical challenge that Dan did. He wrote a song for Dan and planned to play his guitar and sing it at the celebration of life. Overcome with emotion, he couldn't do it then.
Carino is the director of the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, and Dan worked there for the last two years as a computer tech and guide.
Dan's nephew, John Creger, wrote of Dan's physical challenges and amazing ability as a role model in an essay as part of his admission application to Gonzaga. Now a freshman there, John read the essay at the celebration of life.
And in "the next life," as Mom Carolyn refers to the place where Dan is now, he is running and jumping for the first time, listening to KISS and wearing big ol' filthy green and white shoes caked with Lambeau Field dirt.
Early this summer, without her son's knowledge, she wrote a letter to the Green Bay Packers, asking for a pair of shoes that could go with Dan to his next life.
Less than a week after mailing the letter, a package arrived - including offensive tackle Chad Clifton's used shoes, an autographed football and a personal note scrawled by Brett Favre.
The shoes were with Dan in his casket; the note has been given to a relative.
And the 8-1 Packers have their biggest Wyoming fan looking on from above. Can't you just hear "Go Pack Go?"
Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sally.shurmur@trib.com. See her profile and blog at my.trib.com/Sal/blog.