Obituary of James Burns Creighton, Jr. MD
(Self Authored, with minor edits)
James Burns Creighton, Jr. MD was born on December 29, 1931 in Tampa, the first child of Jimmy and Mary Lou Creighton, and was followed by 3 sisters, Sandra, Linda and Bitha. At age 6 he had Polio in his legs. It took a lot of effort from his mother and father over the next several years while having surgeries in St Petersburg and Warm Springs, Ga, to help him regain walking ability. He attended local schools and graduated in 1950 from Hillsborough High School with a “Scientific Diploma,” where he was president of the student body. Later he was inducted into the Hillsborough High School “Hall of Fame.” He attended University of Florida from 1950-53 and then graduated from Duke Medical School in 1957. Next was a year as a medical Intern and 3.5 years in Ophthalmology residency at Duke. He and a very close friend from high school, Calvin Mitchell MD, were in training together at Duke and decided when finished they would go back to Tampa and establish THE TAMPA EYE CLINIC, which they did in 1962. This was before there were specialties in Ophthalmology or emergency room physicians and they took care of all kinds of eye problems, medical and surgical. Then as eye care specialties developed, he added partners in various fields of Ophthalmology to THE TAMPA EYE CLINIC, to continue the best care of all eye problems. Eventually Tampa Eye Clinic became one of the largest Eye Clinics on the West Coast of Florida. For years he served as “Clinical Associate Professor” in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of South Florida. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Ophthalmology and a life member of the Foundation of the Academy. In addition he was a lifetime member of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology, the AMA, and Duke University’s Davidson’s Club’s Founders Society. In December, 2014 he retired after practicing Ophthalmology at The Tampa Eye Clinic for 53 years.
Gardening, boating and fishing were his lifelong hobbies. For 35 years he and 7 other close friends went on fishing trips every year for Speckled Perch and called their group the “SPECKS.” They had many fish fries, and with their wives, many great socials.
For many years he was in the “Society of Fellows” of the Garden Conservancy and he and Cathy traveled all over the United States and Mexico with the Conservancy, touring notable gardens including Martha Stewart’s. He was donor of “The Burns and Cathy Creighton’s Pavilion” at the University of South Florida Botanical Garden. Burns and his wife, Catherine Grace Miranda, raised 5 children, Darryl, Brent, Barry, Beth and Bryce, and later helped raise two twin grandsons, Elijah and Marcus. He has 6 other fine adult grandsons, Carl, Connor, Jimmy, B J, Ben, and Thomas, and he is very proud of all of them. In addition there are 2 newborn twin grandchildren, Jeddadiah Creighton and Jazmin Creighton.
In 2000, Burns and Cathy decided after living 37 years on the bay in Beach Park in Tampa that they would like country life and built Escondido, their estate on a “gentleman’s” farm in Lithia, FL where the elevation is 82 feet above sea level and there would not be a yearly worry of flooding from hurricanes, which was always a concern where they lived on Bayside Drive in Tampa. He enjoyed growing exotic plants and animals on the farm and always had a project he was working on. He and Cathy were members of the Welcome Baptist Church in Lithia a few blocks from Escondido.
In March 2024 Burns and Cathy sold the Escondido farm and moved to Sun City. Burns spent the last few months of his life in Freedom Plaza in Sun City, where he won the Garden of the Month Award in short order.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Welcome Baptist Church, 11308 Welcome Church St., Lithia FL on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 11AM with a reception and celebration lunch to follow.
Please scroll down to leave your message to the family. Please regale us with a fun memory or story and even a favorite picture of you and Burns.
So sorry for your loss. Doc was a wonderful man
He was my families eye dr and friend. My husband Jesus Rocha painted his house. They were good friends
I CLEANED THE HOUSE FOR CATHY A FEW TIMES AND WE ATTENDED ONE OF HIS SONS WEDDING
IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. DOC AND CATHY WERE GOOD TO US. WE LOVED THEM LIKE FAMILY. WISH CONDOLENCES FOR THE FAMILY
My mom and dad, Billy & Winton Harkness, and Jimmy & Mary Lou Creighton, and John & Mary Ernsberger were all friends and cooked fish together on the Campbell’s causeway on weekends.
All the kids were friends too.
I sorry for your loss.
My Dearest Beth, We are all so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for you because I know how much you loved him and he was always there for you. As far as memories go, I will always cherish those festive Christmas parties your parents had in that gorgeous home. I remember you dad always loved to have the children sing songs, do little skits, or whatever they wanted to do. Ryan still remembers doing that and truly enjoying himself and bringing a smile to your dad’s face. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you. We love you very much. Libby, RJ, Victoria and Ryan Mills
I’d like to start off by saying all of the family are in my thoughts and prayers , he will be missed so much. I spent the last 32 years of my life working for doc,he has been an absolute blessing in my life.I was 17 when i started working for him,the farm wasn’t much more than trees , dirt and weeds. He had a imagination and dreams like no other ,so for the next 32 years we built his dreams and anything else he could think of, what an adventure,im so glad I was able to be apart of it.Doc was more like a dad to me than a boss , he had a huge heart and always Intrested in what was going on in my life and always had nothing but words of encouragement for me in every situation i ever went through,you don’t find many people like that to work for I’m thankful for everyday we spent together.I seen him at his best and worst , but one thing I never seen was him complaining, he loved life and no matter what medical obstacles came his way he was ready to fight his way through it.For the last four years I spent every morning with him at breakfast, he would share stories about his life and family and things he overcame in life, I will always cherish that . He was like like a book of knowledge,but the one thing I remember most is when I was going through one of the hardest times of my life , he sat at the table and cried with me and said a prayer for me he had a heart of gold I’m going to miss him so much and our conversation. Doc thank you for a lifetime of memories and a friendship I will never forget.Love ya man till we meet again
Darryl,
We are so sorry to hear of your dad’s passing. Our deepest condolences go out to you and your family. May you find solace in his enduring legacy and memory. Sending love your way.
Bob, Mary Pat and Erika
My thoughts and prayers include comfort for your entire family. I am very grateful for many warm memories which included family gatherings a welcome home filled with kindness and love.
He always shared a gentle smile filled with hope and grace
i will be forever grateful for him and your family.
Shannon, good to hear from you. What’s your email address?
Barry Creighton
Darryl and family, I am so sorry to hear this about your Dad. What a special person he was!!! I only knew him a short time, but he was fun loving and a gentle man. I often think about the stage he built and had all of you do a skit at Christmas!! Treasured memories!! Sending you love and peace for healing.
Here is Darryl trying to return the favor by holding Burns in front of Tampa Eye Clinic on the day of his dad’s retirement in 2014. He turned out to be a little heavy!
Here is a proud Papa holding baby Darryl in front of the newly opened Tampa Eye Clinic in 1962.