Mildred Lee Freeman

Mother Mildred Lee Freeman was born on October 17, 1933, in Chula, Georgia, to the late Dollie Lee Kegler and John C. Leggett. She was the oldest out of thirteen siblings.

As a child growing up in Georgia, she picked cotton. She was too small to use a regular sack, so she was given a flour sack to use.

At an early age, her favorite Uncle Jack came back to Georgia and moved her and her mother to Sun City, Florida.

She attended school in Sun City, and after school would let out, they would have to go to work in the field. Even though she only had a fifth grade education, she was a smart individual who diligently read her Bible and worked on crossword puzzles until she got glaucoma.

Mother Freeman accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior at an early age under the Leadership of Pastor Daymon in Sun City, Florida, even though her first Christian experience was under her stepfather, Tommy Davis, in Georgia. In 1959, she moved to Palmetto, Florida, and joined Pentecostal Church of God in Bradenton, Florida, under the leadership of her childhood friends, Elder Otis Johnson, Sr., and Elder Henry Lee Jackson, Sr.

Her house was called the Shady Rest because she would lend a helping hand to anyone that was in need whether they needed food, shelter, or just a conversation. Through her kindness, she became a godmother or auntie to many individuals who passed through Shady Rest. She was preceded in death by her mother, Dollie Lee Killings, father, John C. Leggett; stepfather, Tip Killing; husband, Edward Freeman; three daughters, Ada Mae, Emma Lou and Viola "Tee;" four sons, Edward, Willie Lee, Freddie, and Bobby; grandchildren, Michael, Cory, Tricie, Paul "Dute," Shawanda, Larry, and Dwayne; seven brothers, Charles Leggett, Peter Charles, Tommy Lee Davis, Tip Killings, Jr., David Killings, Carvin Killings, and Walter Killings; and two sisters, Mary Lee and Dollie Mae Killings.

Mother Freeman leaves to cherish her memories: her seven daughters, Sarah, Geraldine (Charles) Kirby, Annie Lou, Mary (Gerald) Murray, Maxine Freeman, Vashti Golden, and Verna (Charles) Chambliss; three sons, Paul Freeman, Edward (Thelma) Freeman, and Louis Robinson; forty-five grandchildren; host of great-grands and great-great-grands; two sisters, Joyce Ann Baker and Flora Killings; one brother, Jerome Killings; two goddaughters, Gwendolyn McElroy and Sharina Mitchell; and a host of others family members and friends.