Pediatrician Christine Creus never had any children of her own, but the way she figured it, she had all the kids in Chilton County to look after.

Creus died Saturday, July 4, after a six-month battle with lung cancer. She is being remembered this week for her love of children and involvement in the community.

Ajay Patel, from Clanton Internal Medicine, is a friend and colleague of Creus since she moved to Clanton in 1996.

“She’ll be missed as a great, caring person overall, but especially for the children,” Patel said.

Patel said somebody once ask Creus why she never married or had children. Her answer reveals much about how she felt about her work at Chilton Pediatrics.

“She said all the children she treated are her own and she didn’t want to become biased by having her own,” Patel recalled.

Creus was born Dec. 15, 1957, in the Philippines. She graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the Cebu Institute of Medicine in 1984 and completed her residency in pediatrics at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.

She moved to Clanton in 1996, and considered Chilton County her adopted home.

“She was very loving and really had a heart for taking care of the community,” said Rachel Acreman, who handles insurance claims at Chilton Pediatrics. “She feft like that was what God called her to do. That was her ministry.”

Creus worked as the county’s sole pediatrician for 13 years, but coworkers said her caring attitude extended beyond her work as a doctor.

“We’re a close-knit family. She has seen us through marriages, divorce, births … deaths,” Acreman said. “She wasn’t just our boss. She was our friend. We love her, and we’ll miss her.”

A gifted musician and devoted Catholic, Creus played at church and for several charity concerts. She was also active in Special Olympics, Relay for Life and other community fundraisers.

Before she died, Creus was working to bring on a second doctor at her practice.

Dr. Gladys Alolod, who currently is working in Montgomery, will start work full-time July 20.

Other doctors are fulfilling office hours and are on standby in the interim, Acreman said.

“We are still going and are still going to be here,” Acreman said. “We are going to honor her by doing that.”

Funeral services for Creus were Tuesday, July 7 at Resurrection Catholic Church. A separate funeral service will follow in the Philippines.