News & Updates
An extraordinary gift The story of this extraordinary gift started four decades ago when a young student came to Bradley from South Bend, Indiana. Charles F. Creamer III ’68 found a home and friends on the Hilltop. He studied journalism and history, and pledged Sigma Nu fraternity, where his brothers remember him as bright, social and caring. He was the kind of guy who would go out of his way for others without being asked. Charlie left Bradley after the 1968 academic year and entered the Army. Tragically, the helicopter he was piloting was shot down on Nov. 28, 1970 in Vietnam, and Charlie was killed. He left behind his grieving mother, noted textile designer Marie Creamer. Marie Creamer was a design force in the rug industry for nearly 50 years, principally as a freelance designer for Regal Rugs. Her designs were instrumental in building and maintaining Regal Rugs' strength in the market. Creamer was responsible for many innovative designs and technical changes which earned her recognition from the American Institute of Interior Design.
Charles F. Creamer III ’68
Howard Lickerman, former president of Regal Rugs remembered, "Marie was a great and gracious lady with an innate talent to sense style and the market's direction. Marie's ideas contributed mightily to bringing the organization to life. Her designs were copied worldwide. Marie, through her innovations, created a niche in the market for Regal and then enlisted other talented designers to add their designs." The last contact the University had with the Creamer family was after Charlie died 37 years ago. Then, Charlie’s mother passed away at her home in the Wellington area of West Palm Beach, Florida on Aug. 4, 2007. By the time of her death at 94, Mrs. Creamer had amassed a substantial estate. And as a result of her son’s wonderful experience at
Bradley, she left the University a restricted gift of $3.7 million for the creation of an endowed scholarship fund. No one at the University had the opportunity to properly thank Mrs. Creamer, but her generous gift will be used to help generations of future Bradley students who come to the Hilltop looking for a top-quality education and lifelong friends, just as her son did in 1964. And because of her gift, the memory of Charles Creamer III will live on at Bradley. Mrs. Creamer’s name will also live on as a member of the University’s Renaissance Circle Society. Established in 2008, the Society pays tribute to individuals, corporations, and foundations that have made gifts of one million dollars or more to Bradley’s $150 million Campaign for a Bradley Renaissance.