Mountain Area Gem and Mineral Association

Memorial Rockhounds

HALL OF FAME
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Robert Creason

1943-2006

Happy times , Robert and Linda at the 1st Annual Rockhound Roundup and our 2004 club picnic.

Above left, just a few months ago, Robert was hard at work with the rest of the club helping to rehab the Crabtree Emerald Mine. Right, Robert and Linda cooking a good meal for our members at the 2005 club picnic.

Robert Creason was a true friend to all our members, he was a founding member of our club, and was always ready to lend a hand or help out a new member. While the club has suffered a loss losing Robert, those who new him had their lives enriched greatly.

-Rick Jacquot
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Just wanted to share my favorite memory about Robert...

I didn't know him all that well but had dug with him a time or two back when MAGMA was just getting started. My favorite time was when we were on John D's birthday dig 2005 down on Lake Chatuge.

I remember freezin our tails off with 30 mph winds whipping across the water, but Robert and I crawled around on our hands and knees looking for corundum, ugly teeny pieces of corundum. I knew there was better corundum in the hole I was digging, but for an hour or so I scoured around with him. Robert was just one of those people that sucked you in and you couldn't help but listen to his stories or what he had to share.

-Dave Hart
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Robert had a big, constant smile. It was infectious. I never heard him complain. He always had some new rock to show me and would often give me a piece. If I was having a poor collecting day, he would always take me to a more procuctive area where he was usually digging; show me how and what to look for and then move over so I could dig also. He always had a story to tell and would talk my ear off. I enjoyed his company and always looked forward to seeing Robert and Linda at shows we worked together. We didn't get to dig that Buck Creek jasper together but he made sure I knew where to look after he was gone. You will be missed Robert.

-Jerry Fortenberry
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I have to say that I will miss Robert. The times that I spent hanging out with him on digs and at gem shows were always full of laughs, great stories and little "inside" tips about gem hunting. I will always remember his ready smile, his knee-high snake boots that he claimed could repel a shotgun blast at close range, and his great tales of collecting adventures. Let's all keep Linda in our thoughts and prayers. I personally choose to picture Robert in the great beyond, grinning from ear to ear as he collects specimens so beautiful that we can't even begin to imagine them.

-Steve Barr
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Robert was a great person, just like Dave said, he would suck you in and mesmerize you with his stories. I only dug with him a couple of times, not nearly enough. In Franklin this year, we went to breakfast together at Hardee's. I sat there, drinking coffee and eating a biscuit, listening to Robert talk about his homeplace, in Oklahoma, then he talked about the cold winters when he lived in Idaho. After breakfast, we went to Cherokee Mine, where he put up with my incessant pestering, "Is this corundum?", "What is this?". He was so patient, so nice and always with a smile.

-Drew Laing
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I only knew him for about a year and a half, but what a fine gentleman. He was one of those people who once you met it was if you had known him for years..Always glad to give a helping hand and cheering you on when you succeeded..he will be missed but not forgotten...

-Ron Seaver
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Robert has always been a VERY friendly & outgoing person, who will be missed. I am really glad I was able to make it to the roundup and commune again!!

-Doug Dover
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