Cottage Grove sentinel., May 01, 2019, WEDNESDAY EDITION, Page 3A, Image 3

COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019 | 3A
Community News
Community gathers for one last wave goodbye
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Clarence Kreamier, also known
as the “Cottage Grove Waver,”
passed away April 17 at age 70, leav-
ing behind a legacy of happiness
and goodwill with a community he
loved to make smile.
“He was always that guy that if
you made him smile, you made
his day,” said his daughter Nancy
Kreamier.
Clarence was born in Riverside,
Calif., and joined the U.S. Army
Artillery, serving in Vietnam from
Sept. 1969 to May 1974.
When he returned, he married
and started a family, spending some
time in Arkansas before moving to
Oregon.
About 10 years ago, he followed
Nancy to Cottage Grove, where she
had spent a year struggling to make
ends meet.
“When I lost my apartment, he
got a place with me and helped
me raise the kids for a good three
years,” Nancy said. “He paid first,
last, deposits. He co-signed, went
primary on the house.”
Clarence stayed with his daughter
until she was back on her feet.
“He was always just that standard
foundation,” Nancy recalled. Not
just for his family, but for everyone
around him, “He was the go-to guy.
You need a deck built, you need
this, you need that, you need help
— he was the person you called. He
was always that generous person
that was trying to help someone
out.”
About five years ago, after a heart
attack which required intense sur-
gery, Clarence was under the home
care of Nancy and her mother —
until one day, he disappeared.
“He took off on me and my mom
like a week-and-a-half after being
home. He split,” Nancy said. “Next
thing we know, he’s down here on
the corner waving at everybody. …
And when we catch up with him,
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Area residents left remembrances for the smiles and waves shared by Clarence Kreamier, who was
known for brightening peoples’ days from his spot near the corner of 16th and Main streets.
he’s telling me, ‘All these people
are always so angry and they never
smile. All I wanted to do was get a
honk and a wave.’”
Though seemingly random, Nan-
cy said it fell right in line with Clar-
ence’s love of spreading joy. “He was
just drawn to it,” she said. “Every
time we’d turn around, he’d take off
and be right back up at that corner.”
It was when Clarence moved into
a house just down the street fromthe
corner of 16th and Main streets that
he really picked up the pace and, for
the last three years, has a been a reg-
ular fixture on the corner, decked in
bright patriotic colors and an equal-
ly bright disposition.
Though some people figured him
for a panhandler and tried to give
him money, Clarence would never
accept it.
“For him, that made his day,” said
Nancy. “Just making people happy
and being around people that were
happy.”
Nancy recounted one story her
father had told her about why he
kept going back. A woman and her
husband once approached him and
told him they had been fighting a
lot lately. But, the woman said, “For
some reason, when I wave to you,
it just brightens my day. So when I
go home, we just stop fighting. We
started talking to each other.”
Clarence’s daughter remembers
her father being a big advocate of
“leaving work at work, and leav-
ing home at home.” Knowing that
his streetside cheerfulness could
in some way be helpful in that was
enough fuel to keep him going out
there.
Although Nancy knew he was af-
fecting people’s lives, she had never
suspected the true extent of his im-
pact until social media erupted with
stories following his passing.
“Just the simple act of kindness
and smile, it kind of rubbed off on
people and kind of followed them
home,” she said. “It’s something I
hope the community still holds on
to. That simple kindness … pay it
forward. … That would carry on his
legacy.”
Clarence’s legacy may very well
live on in a very tangible way. In
honoring his memory, the city has
donated a bench and secured per-
mission from the landowner at Clar-
ence’s corner, Ernie Olson, to install
the bench by the end of the week.
The bench was commissioned to be
painted by Golnrod Graphix own-
er Rod Lundy and inscribed with a
dedication to Clarence.
Support has also been pouring in
from the community as Nancy has
made burial and memorial prepa-
rations for her father. After the
Clarence Kreamier Memorial Fund
account was established at Ban-
ner Bank, donations quickly came
in from the innumerable people
touched by Clarence’s joy.
“The community has been so
great. I can’t believe the rallying
support,” she said. “I can’t put into
words how thankful I am.”
As of press time, the fund had just
reached its $1,310 goal to cover me-
morial expenses.
The public celebration of life and
potluck will be held at 11 a.m. on
May 4 at Delight Valley Church of
Christ, 33087 Saginaw Rd. East and
will give attendees an opportunity
to share memories or leave state-
ments with Clarence.
“It’s going to be a chance for the
community to be interactive with
his ceremony — his celebration of
life,” Nancy said.
A private military service will be
held for Clarence as well.
Nancy hopes the contagious na-
ture of her father’s joy will have a
lasting effect on the community.
“His life was spreading kindness.
And if we could spread kindness in
a small gesture every day, we’ll give
a piece of him life still,” she said. “It’s
amazing what just a simple smile
and kindness can do.”
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