Monroe E. Freeman jr.

FREEMAN

MONROE E. FREEMAN jr.

Monroe E. "Mike" Freeman Jr, 84, passed away in Columbia, SC on April 20, 2022. Mike exemplified what Ralph Waldo Emerson defined as the purpose of life: "…to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it made some difference that you have lived and lived well." He was all of those things, and he leaves us all the better for his life lived well.

Mike was a loyal friend, a loving father and grandfather, and a devoted husband to Baba, his wife of 60 years. For 50 of those years, he was an engaged and active citizen of Reston, Virginia. He embodied the selfless love of others that would seem self-sacrificial to most, but for him was simply at the core of his being.

Mike was born in Amherst, MA in 1937, to Col. Monroe Edward and Christina (Gray) Freeman. He grew up in Washington, DC, attended public schools there and graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1954. He went to Georgetown University and graduated in 1958.

After serving six years in the Army, Mike attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1967.

He returned to Washington to work at the law firm of vom Baur, Coburn, Simmons & Turtle. In 1980 he was appointed to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and served as an Administrative Law Judge until he retired in 2016 at the age of 78. He then was a valiant caregiver to Baba until her death in 2019.

Mike and Baba were early residents of and advocates for the new town of Reston VA, settling in Waterview Cluster in 1967. He was an active supporter of St. Anne's Episcopal Church, FISH, and soccer and swim teams. He was a volunteer driver for the first local RIBS bus, and an elected board member of the Reston Association, serving as Board President 1988-89. He also served on the board of the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia.

Mike is survived by his children: Emily and David Jones of Columbia, SC and their daughter Anna Frances Coleman of Greensboro, NC; Roger and Laurie Freeman and their sons, Jared and Michael Freeman of Hingham, MA; Andrew Freeman, his children Madeleine, Ethan and Sabina Freeman, and their mother, Amiee Freeman, all of Reston, VA; and a sister, Mary Freeman Spitzer of Philadelphia, PA; one great-granddaughter and eight nieces and nephews.

We give thanks to the dedicated staff at Laurel Crest and Lutheran Hospice in Columbia for their compassionate care over the last year.

A celebration of Mike's life is planned for Saturday, May 28, 2022, at 2 p.m., at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Reston, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Embry Rucker Community Shelter (www.cornerstonesva.org) in Reston, or another service organization of one's choice.