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Published: May 16, 2008 11:45 am
Some of Christmas’ magic is gone
Roger Kreke’s jovial “Ho, Ho, Ho!” was silenced Monday when he lost his courageous battle with cancer.
Kreke, Edmond’s own Santa, was as good as the children who sat upon his knee tried to be.
“To Roger everybody was special,” former Rotary International Regional Director Michelle Schaefer said. “He loved those kids, and he loved listening to them. He was something else. He had the heart of Santa. He truly was Santa.”
During a previous interview Kreke laughingly said, “I always think, ‘What would Santa do?’ It makes me have to be good all the time.”
The Edmond resident looked much like the traditional Kris Kringle he had played the part of for more than 30 years.
“I remember when we were looking for a Santa for the Northwest Rotary Club,” Schaefer said. “At that time Roger and his wife Freida were cleaning the Chamber offices and someone said he looked just like Santa Claus.”
Private parties and charity appearances kept him busy during the winter holidays, and he never tired of bringing a smile to a wide-eyed child or adult as he dressed for the occasion.
Schaefer said Kreke’s mother, Louise, sewed his crushed red velvet costume with the help of his wife.
For a while his daughter, Carrie, accompanied her dad as an elf.
In 2004 Kreke was forced to slow down because of complications from chemotherapy to treat the cancer that was then in his lymph nodes. Kreke had lost his hair and was suffering from exhaustion after the rounds of chemotherapy.
In June he requested the treatments be suspended until January to give his beard a chance to grow back. In the meantime he chose to undergo alternative radiation treatments.
When questioned about the meaning of Christmas in a previous interview, Kreke said with a smile, “Santa lives in your heart. You’re never too old for (him) as long as you believe in the good stuff in the world.”
This year some of the magic of Christmas will be gone.
Someone else will have to try to fill the black boots and the red velvet suit that Kreke once wore.
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