Henry Louis Creel was born May 27, 1943 in Laurel, Mississippi to the late Sylvester Creel Sr. and Gettie Mae Creel, the middle son of seven children born to this union.

The family relocated from Laurel to Cleveland in 1957, when Henry was 14 years-old. After his graduation from John Adams HS, Henry earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting, setting him on the path to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Henry's first job after receiving his CPA was at TRW Corporation. He moved on to build a private practice, beginning with Watson & Rice CPAs. He moved on to establish a partnership, Tony Smith & Company. In 1990 he opened his own CPA firm, Henry L Creel Co., achieving his lifetime goal. He worked there until 2018.

The Creel family became long time members of Mt Olive Missionary Baptist Church.

In 1965, Henry married Mary Alice Campbell, his Sunday School classmate at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church. The couple had three sons: John Henry, Paul and Andrew (deceased). Henry and Mary loved their yearly trips to Aruba and their long drives back to their hometowns of Alabama and Mississippi.

Family and friends were important to Henry, and when his eldest son, John Henry, presented his father with a business proposal,  he gave  his son one year to come up with a business plan. That idea became Mind & Body Fitness, established in 1994 and still operating 28 years later.

Brother Paul returned from college to assist John Henry with the fitness center. Paul remembers the great advice his father always gave him: “Always deal with your issues.” “Always do right by your mother.” 

Henry was an ardent sports fan, a devotee of the game show network. He loved listening to Bobby Blue Bland. Also among his favorite pastimes were watching Clint Eastwood westerns and golfing with his brothers.

A special treat was listening to wife Mary serenade him with “My Man”, a transposed version of the Temptations' hit My Girl. 

Henry is survived by his wife Mary (Campbell); sons John Henry and Paul (Yvette); grandchildren Malinda, William, Cassia and Alivia; and cherished and  siblings Sylvester Jr. (Bonnie), Ellis, Carolyn Franklin, Gloria Brooks, mother – in – law Sally Hanks, sister – in – laws Ethel Burts, Carolyn Wright, Ernestine Smith, Claudette Hanks and Miranda Creel, brother – in – laws Calvin Johnson, Charles Hanks, Curtis Hanks and a multitude of cousins, nieces, nephews and a host of family and friends.

He was preceded him in death by his son Andrew; his brothers Gerald and Marvin; three sisters–in–law, Barbara Creel, Joyce Creel and Elizabeth Brown; and brothers–in–law Willie Franklin and Ronnie Brooks Sr.