Robert Alan Freeman

Robert Alan Freeman, a Mississippi native who nudged a pharmacy degree into a lifetime
career in professorships in health economics and pharmacy education, died Aug. 4, 2024
in Birmingham, Alabama from complications following a stroke.

Bob was born in Oct. 29, 1947 in Brookhaven, Mississippi to Lonnie R. and Iris (Cannon)
Freeman. He grew up working in nearby Wesson in his father's pharmacy, sweeping
floors and delivering prescriptions, graduating from Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in
1967. From Co-Lin, he attended the University of Mississippi, between 1970 and 1974
earning a bachelor's degree in pharmacy, and master's and doctoral degrees in health
administration. He began filling prescriptions at his dad's pharmacy when he completed
his pharmacy degree.

He spent the next half-century working in those fields, both in academia and working for
major pharmaceutical firms. The career included assistant professor at the University of
Iowa's School of Pharmacy; University of Alabama at Huntsville's School of Medicine;
chair associate professor at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy; director,
health economics and policy analysis at the Upjohn Company in Portage, Michigan;
senior director, corporate health economics, Searle Corporation; director of
pharmaco-economics and strategic pricing at Sterling-Winthrop (now Sanofi) public
policy executive director at AstraZeneca, professor, pharmaceutical sciences at Texas
A&M's Rangel College of Pharmacy; professor and vice chair for research at
University of Maryland's Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy.

In 1970, Bob married Wesson classmate Rachel Lewis. She and their three children,
Jennifer, John (Helen) and James Freeman survive. Bob and Rachel divorced in 1991.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, second wife Assunta Leto, brother John, sister
Joyce and brother-in-law Nel Dube, nephews Richard and Keith Dube and Drew Freeman
and great-nephew Eric Robinson.

Besides his sons and daughter, Bob is also survived by granddaughter Rose Freeman,
niece Debra Sharpe, great-niece Holly Michelle Hadad and great-nephew Drew Robinson,
special friends Donna and Betsy and feline friends Gio and Itty-Bitty.

At Bob's request, he was cremated. No services are planned. Donations in his memory
may be made to a worthy cause of the donor's choice.