Obituary of George and June Freeman

George Edwin Freeman, November 12, 1921- April 2, 2017 Dorothy June Freeman, April 24, 1930 – April 3, 2017 Our wonderful parents, George Edwin Freeman, and D. June Freeman (nee Maxwell) of Arnprior, Ontario, died within 36 hours of each other after almost 62 years of marriage, on April 2 and April 3 respectively, at ages 95 and 86. George, son of the late E.G.D. and the late Ada (nee Davis) Freeman was born in 1921 in Winnipeg. He was the brother of the late Jean Harvey (late Ian), John Freeman (late Marg and the late Barbara), the late Marjorie Cummings (late Webb), and Lois Wilson (late Roy). As navigator of a B25 Mitchell bomber based in Dunsfold, England, he and his crew carried out 51 missions during World War II. Subsequently, he lived in postwar London and Florence, Italy, with his first wife, Pat Larkin. On returning to Canada, he completed his master’s degree in economics at University of Toronto, and began his 35-year career at the Bank of Canada, where he met and married June. He rose through the ranks at the Bank to serve as chief of the Research Department and later as a deputy governor. He was also a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Prices and Incomes, and a professor emeritus in the Department of Economics at Queen’s University in Kingston. In 1980, he and June bought a farm near Arnprior, Ontario, and became sheep farmers. June, daughter of the late Wallace A. and the late Dorothy (nee Betts) Maxwell, was born in Ottawa in 1930. She was sister of the late Wallace Jr. ( Brenda) and Penny Schafer (Fred), and sister-in-law of John Dobrowolski (Brenda). One of only five women graduates in the B. Com. program at McGill University in her year, she subsequently joined the Bank of Canada, where she met George. Married in 1955, George and June became parents of Victoria (Mark Fawcett), Martha (died 2002), Kate, and Eric (former partner Lisa Lamoureux), and eventually grandparents of Claire, Ariel, Michael, and Fiona as well as numerous grand-dogs. June was also president of the Natural Childbirth Association of Ottawa and was involved in the King’s Daughters Dinner Wagon, later Meals on Wheels (Ottawa), as well as the University Women’s Club (Arnprior); she served as treasurer for a number of other community organizations. She became an expert midwife, assisting at the births of many lambs at Yellowgrass Farm. We wish to thank the many friends, neighbours, organizations, and businesses that helped make it possible for our parents to continue living in the community of Arnprior as they aged. These included CCAC, in particular Shalan Doxsee, Alida Tourian, and Linda Jamieson; the caring PSWs of St. Elizabeth Health Care, most recently Donna Langford and Anita McNulty; the staff of Island View Suites; and Veterans Affairs Canada. In addition, we thank the fabulous folks at Arnprior-Braeside-McNab Seniors at Home, especially Nancy, Colin, Liz, and Lesley; our parents’ long-time family physicians, John Kiskis and Donna Vilis; and the skilled teams at Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital and Hospice Renfrew. A visitation was held Saturday, April 29 from 1 to 3pm at Island View Suites, 30 Jack Crescent, Arnprior, and our parents’ lives were honoured and celebrated on their 62nd wedding anniversary, Sunday, April 30, at Kirkman House, 294 John St. N., Arnprior, from 2 to 4pm; all are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS Society, Alzheimer’s Society, Hospice Renfrew, Arnprior-Braeside-McNab Seniors at Home, or Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital. In the care of the Pilon Family Funeral Home and Chapel Ltd., 50 John Street North, Arnprior.