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Nolen Freeman Obituary
June 12, 1931 - September 28, 2024
Cedar Key, Florida - Chief Nolen Wilson Freeman, long-time resident of Cedar Key, FL, and previously of Lexington, KY and Gainesville, FL passed away on Sat. Sept. 28th in Gainesville, FL of natural causes.
Born on June 12, 1931 in Harrodsburg, KY, Nolen served in the Marine Corps in a special covert unit to protect nuclear weapons on the USS Coral Sea from 1948-1952. He returned to the States, to marry his childhood sweetheart, Daisy Tewmey.
He began a long professional life in law enforcement when he joined the Kentucky State Patrol, where he was a trooper, a sergeant, and the personal bodyguard to the Governor of Kentucky, A.B. "Happy" Chandler. He then moved to the Lexington, KY police department, serving for 13 years.
At the age of 37, he attained both undergraduate and master's degrees in criminal justice from Easter Kentucky University (Richmond, KY). (Major). His master's degree was the first in Criminal Justice east of the Mississippi.
He was hired to be the Chief of Police in Gainesville, FL in 1972. In 1978, he returned to the Lexington, KY police department as police chief until his retirement to Cedar Key, FL. Nolen and Daisy were a remarkable love story, married 60 years until Daisy's death in 2011.
Preceding Nolen in death were his parents, wife Daisy, and children Nolen W. Freeman II, James Anthony (Tony) Freeman, and David Joseph (Joey) Freeman. Survivors include sons Will (Grinnell, IA) and Eric (Sadieville, KY) and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life for family and close friends will occur in Cedar Key, FL on a later date.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Nolen Freeman
Sponsored by Lexington Herald-Leader.
1 Entry
Don Blevins
October 6, 2024
I was a Member of the LFUCG council during the tenure of service of Chief Freeman. I send my sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fellow police officers and continue my deep appreciation of their service to Lexington. May his memory be a blessing during this sad time.
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