Theodore Clarence Cree

We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ Gunderson Funeral Home - Madison

DearCree Family, I’m so very sorry to hear about your dad, Ted. He was a great friend back when we were flying the A-t Corsair II in combat, and I was glad we had the opportunity to renew that friendship through our more recent Warhawk reunions. I was the most junior pilot in the original VA-97 Warhawk squadron and, as a result, got to fly as wingman for nearly everyone. I remember Ted as an excellent pilot and flight leader. In some ways he was a quiet guy, but every once in a while he could come up with the funniest—and sometimes most outrageous—joke when you least expected it. Another thing I remember well is that Ted was our squadron audiophile. He was really into music and electronics and always seemed to know about the latest equipment. He had an expensive, complicated reel-to-reel tape deck with separate record and playback heads. You could speak into a microphone and, about a second later, hear your own voice coming back through the headset. Almost nobody could talk for more than a few seconds without stumbling all over their words. It all sounds pretty silly now, but we had a great time passing the microphone around and seeing who could keep talking the longest without getting completely tongue-tied. On Ted’s advice, I ended up with Pioneer 88 speakers, a Sansui 5000 amplifier, and an Akai reel-to-reel tape deck. At the time it was a pretty sophisticated sound system….big and loud and lots of bass—and Ted was largely responsible for my choices. There’s another memory of Ted that I think says something about the kind of man he was. He had the unenviable additional duty of Squadron Legal Officer, a job he neither sought nor particularly enjoyed. Our first Commanding Officer (CO) was not a great leader, nor a great pilot quiet frankly. At one point, one of our young sailors got himself into serious trouble, and our original CO wanted very severe punishment. Ted believed there were extenuating circumstances and that the sailor deserved fairer treatment. He stood his ground and fought hard for that young man, even though doing so put him at odds with that CO and made the remainder of Ted’s Navy time considerably less pleasant. I’ll always remember that Ted was willing to stand up for someone when he thought it was the right thing to do. Ted also had a fantastic understanding of the A-7 Corsair II’s complex electronic and mechanical systems. I knew even then that he was a brilliant guy, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn later that he had earned his PhD after leaving the Navy. Like a lot of guys who served together, Ted and I didn’t talk all that often over the years. But whenever we did, it was as though not much time had passed. It was always good to catch up on our lives, our families, and, inevitably, some old Warhawk stories. I’m grateful that Ted and I had those years together as Warhawks and especially grateful that, many years later, we had the chance to renew our friendship. My deepest sympathy to you and your family on the loss of your dad. I hope knowing that he is remembered with great respect, affection, and more than a few smiles by those of us who flew with him will bring you some comfort. Mic Hamilton VA-97 Warhawks, Rocket 23

I worked with Ted for a while at Reynolds Transfer & Storage and totally enjoyed his sense of humor. I remember one time especially: he was going to tell a joke to a mechanic who was working on the ground under a heavy piece of equipment-Ted said to him that he wanted to tell him an old person Alzheimer's joke, but oops he (Ted) forgot the punch line!!! well the mechanic was laughing so hard he hit his head on the underside of the machine-he thought that was the joke! But Ted really had forgotten the punch line! I am sorry I didn't know about all the other things about him. I was glad to know him and he even shared Jean's recipe for rum balls with me. God bless your memories. Chardel Johnston