Richard's Thoughts

Lest we forget, here is a pictorial retrospective and prose tribute to my mom, the wonderful Harriette Lenore Sorenson Freer.

One year ago, July 19, 2005, I knocked on Mom's door to take her to a doctor's appointment.

After a few moments, I assumed that she was indisposed and walked around to the back yard to savor the sylvan splendor of the South Florida ambience and the flora and fauna of Hammocks Lake.

I returned and knocked to no avail. Then I called my brother David for moral support, and snapped open the auxiliary lock on the front door, walked into the bedroom, and discovered that she had passed away in her sleep. Tears and grief overwhelmed me, and I called my wife and sons, along with paramedics.

The funeral services in Kennedy MN were recorded and are a part of the Story Of Harriette, Of Blessed Memory, to which a link is provided.

She was the best mother one could want, giving and selfless, poised and gracious, accomplished yet humble. She and Arthur J. Freer made sure that the three boys Richard David and Stephen wore nice clothes and had nutritious meals before they went to school. They encouraged us to excel and were mighty proud to stand in the Sullivan HS office and look at our names on the Honor Roll in 1961. When I told Dad and Mom that I had matriculated at the U of Chicago, they congratulated me and added "You can't fake it there". I wish that Dad lived to see us graduate from the U of C, but he passed in September , 1962.