Mable Annette Freer

Mable Annette Freer passed away on December 29, 2025 at Dallas County Medical Center, after a short illness. She was 89 years old.

Annette (don’t call her Mable) was born on September 14, 1936 in Carthage, Arkansas to John Walter Key and Gladys Talbert Key. She attended and graduated from Carthage High School where she was a member of the Carthage Blue Devil basketball team.

Following graduation, she attended business school in Chicago before returning home in 1957 to marry Lewis Sheridan Freer, a union which lasted 55 years until his death in 2012. The couple made their home in Ivan, and raised their family there.

In addition to raising a family and managing a household, Annette worked at the family business, Freer Packing Company, helped to operate Ivan General Store and served as Postmaster of the Ivan Post Office for 38 years. She was a life long and active member of Zion Baptist Church in Ivan.

Following her retirement, Annette loved reading, playing cards with her many local friends and golfing at Fordyce Country Club. What she loved most, however, was spending time with her family, where she was a beloved MiMi to her grandsons and great grandchildren, who loved the tea parties she hosted, where donut holes were a special treat.

In addition to her two parents, and her husband Sheridan, Annette was predeceased by a sister, Charlotte Owens. She is survived by three brothers, David Key (Caroline), John Key and Doug Key; two children, Rick Freer (Angela) and Gay Anthony (Steven); two grandsons, Addison Anthony (Allison) and Wilson Anthony (Jenny); five great grandchildren, Emerson, John Sheffield, Olivia, Mary Catherine and Amelia; a step-grandchild, Brycelynn Bailey; and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend its deepest appreciation for the personalized care that Annette received from Dr. Lindsey Walley and the staff in the Comfort Care unit of Dallas County Medical Center.

A visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, 2026 at Benton Funeral Home in Fordyce. A graveside service will be held at Hampton Springs Cemetery in Carthage on Monday, January 5, 2026 at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family would encourage memorials be made to Dallas County Medical Center Auxiliary or Dallas County Library.