Joan I. Freise (Heussman)

Joan Ida (Heussman) Freise was born May 25, 1930, to Herman and Ida Heussman on the family farm in rural Rawlins County, Kansas. She died December 12, 2020 of Covid-related causes at the Good Samaritan Society in Atwood, Kansas. She was 90 years old. Baptized and confirmed into the Christian faith, she remained a lifelong, active member of the Lutheran Church.

Joan attended St John’s College and Valparaiso University. After returning home, she and her cousins, affectionately known as “The Bettys” moved to Denver, CO. It was there she met her husband, Charles R. Freise, stationed at nearby Lowry Air Force Base. They married in 1953 and raised four daughters, Carol (Greg Canright) Freise, Jennifer (Greg) Hanson, Marla (Doug) Reinert and Gail (Tom) Plinke.

The years were filled with travel as her husband’s career took them to Waukegan, Illinois, Albany, New York, Libertyville, Illinois and Bloomfield, Michigan. Their retirement was enjoyed on the lake in northeast Indiana. Joan’s kindness, grace and good humor accompanied her throughout. She treasured many dear friendships along the way and returned to Atwood, KS after Chuck passed away in 2011.

Joan valued education and passed along a love of reading to her daughters. She taught Head Start and gave private Confirmation classes to several differently abled individuals in her church.

Joan was a loving mother and skilled homemaker. She was proud of her daughters, their accomplishments and families. She will be remembered for her banana bread and jars of home-canned tomatoes, pickles, green beans and other pickings from the garden.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents and by her siblings and their spouses: Elaine (Robert) Holle, Irene (Milton) Schmidt, Bernice (Alvin) Kasten, John (Johanna) Heussman and Gerald Heussman, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, William and Alice Souza, and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is survived by sister-in-law Elaine Heussman; her daughters and their spouses; eight grandchildren, Katherine, Jack, Jessica, Sarah, Jacob, Anna, Frederick and Elaina and eight great-grandchildren.

The family extends heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the staff at Good Samaritan Society-Atwood for the care, kindness and support they provided to Joan. Services were held at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Atwood, Kansas to be followed by internment in Illinois. Memorials are suggested to the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) Redeemer Lutheran Church in Atwood or to a charity of your choice that supports the disabled or literacy and may be sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com