George Freeseman

George Harry Freeseman died on December 26th, 2017. He was born in 1924 in Watertown, South Dakota and grew up on a farm north of Watertown in Codington County. His parents were Harry George Freesemann and Katy Ross.  He and Marie Albin were married February 22, 1951 in a small country church near her parent’s farm just outside Vermillion, South Dakota. He always held this at the top of his list of happy times and had been married for 61 years before she passed away in 2012.

Survivors include their six children, Pat Freeseman (Harold Meyer), Tom Freeseman (Jean), Doug Freeseman (Felicia), Laura Freeseman-Freeman (Ken), Julie Kovar (Jim), and John Freeseman (Fiona), and 16 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He is predeceased by his parents and 7 brothers and sisters, Bob, John, Anne, Joe, Marie, Helen and Richard. He is the last of his family’s generation of Freesemann’s and he has left a legacy that will be carried proudly by his children and many other living nieces, nephews and their children.

George is a veteran of World War II, serving in the 9th Armored Division, which played a part in what later became known as the Battle of the Bulge. This Division was involved 3 campaigns in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. After the Ardennes, the division continued across Germany and crossed the Rhine river. It was along the Rhine river at Remagen, where they captured one of the last bridges intact and held it long enough to allow the troops to cross, earning the Division one of its 13 Presidential Unit Citations.

He was the first member of his family to attend college and he always appreciated this was possible as a result of the GI Bill. In 1950, he graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law. He is fond of saying that he,” hung out his shingle for a short time.” He opened a law office in Hayti, South Dakota, where he also ran once for State Attorney. After moving to Chicago, where he had decided to do advanced study in Law at Northwestern University, he began working in the Insurance industry. He and Marie lived in several different states before first settling in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and then later moving to Overland Park, Kansas in 1971. He retired from the St Paul Insurance Company in 1989 after 30+ years working in claims management and arbitration, where a great part of his time was spent in court in trial or in preparation for trial.

He had a love of cars, seeing the Chiefs win, the Royals beat the Yankees, KU winning a national basketball championship, and watching Jeff Gordon win the Nascar championship. He had fond memories of fishing for Walleye and pheasant hunting; and a lively game of cards with family, especially an exciting game of pinochle.

He passed on his love of camping, and being outdoors. He said that, “sleeping out under the stars in a national forest, listening to a babbling brook nearby, the wind in the tree tops, or the rain on the tent is hard to describe to someone who has never done it. But once you have, you’re hooked for life.”

He was a kind, soft-spoken man, and a keen observer of those around him. In the end, he enjoyed anytime spent with family or friends. In his life story, he melded his thoughts with a Robert Browning poem when he wrote… “if a person is fortunate to have good health they are able to enjoy the last of life for which the first was made.”  George was truly blessed to be able to enjoy a full life with his family and friends around him.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, December 30 from 12-1:30PM, with service at 1:30PM, at Calvary Lutheran Church, 7500 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64114. Burial will follow at Johnson County Memorial Gardens.