Marvin Creamer

Marvin Creamer, a geographer and skilled sailor who completed a two-year circumnavigation of the globe in 1984, without any instruments at all, died on August 12, 2020 in Raleigh, North Carolina, after a brief illness. He was 104 years old.

Creamer, born in 1916 in Salem County, New Jersey, was a graduate of Glassboro State College, now known as Rowan University. He stayed on as a professor, establishing the Geography Department as its first chair in 1970 and received numerous honors up until his retirement in 1977. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in the humanities in 1980. Creamer also had graduate degrees in education and geography from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin.

An avid traveler by both land or sea, Creamer was best known for his extraordinary sailing feet aboard the 26-foot Globerstar, a voyage that he completed when he was nearly 70 years old. His life and adventure were covered by the New York Times, The Economist, and perhaps most importantly, Cruising World.

He was married to Blanche Layton Creamer in 1946 (deceased 2005) and is survived by his sister Evelyn Creamer Daniels; children Andra Creamer Hohler James (David), Lynn Creamer Borstelmann (Tim), and Kurt Creamer (Melissa); grandchildren and step-grandchildren Peggy James, Star Schreier Nixon (Matt), Evan Schreier, Vaughn Creamer, John Borstelmann, Kathryn Jeffery, Maggie Creamer, and Daniel Borstelmann; great-grandchildren Charlotte Nixon and Logan Nixon. He is survived also by his wife of 10 years, Elaine Gillam Creamer.