Dr. Dwight Lowell Freshley

Dwight, “Dee,” was born in Homeworth, Ohio on June 24, 1927, to Palmer and Dora Freshley. He was raised on a farm, graduated from Alliance High School, and served in World War 2 in England, France and Germany. Dwight received his B.A. from North Central College, his M.A. from Northwestern University, and Ph.D. from Ohio State University, the first in his family. He served as Professor and debate coach at Lehigh University and Vanderbilt University, and was awarded a Fulbright Grant to teach in Greece in 1958. Dwight came to the University of Georgia in Athens as a Speech Professor in 1963, and became the first Department Head in the Department of Speech Communication. Dwight was a visiting lecturer in Moscow, Russia and in Beijing, China. He was the co-author of 6 books, author of 20 articles and retired as Professor Emeritus.

Dwight married his college sweetheart, Ruth “Jean” Reinhart, after meeting at North Central University, and raised four children, imbuing them with strong family values and the love of puns, music and song. He was a sports enthusiast, UGA in particular, and played tennis until his late 80’s. Dwight and Jean were active in community and civic organizations, including civil rights, public schools, neighborhood & local politics, and retired teacher associations. They were members of St. James United Methodist and First United Methodist Churches in Athens, where he was a chancel choir member for over 20 years. His extensive civic service locally included Recording for the Blind, Citizens Panel of the Juvenile Court, Clarke County Public School Mentor, and a leader in Georgia and National Mental Health Organizations. Dwight enjoyed his membership and choral presentations with the Athens Choral Society.

Dwight was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, of 63 years; his son, Douglas Freshley; and his daughter, Dina Freshley Wilson. Also, as youngest of seven children, Dwight is preceded in death by the family he so loved and adored: his parents and siblings: Atlee, Ruth, Don, Wilson, Paul, and Wendell. He was the last of a great generation.

The family wishes to thank Wesley Woods of Athens and all Dwight’s caretakers who helped make his final years full of love, comfort and happiness.

Dwight is survived by his loyal sons: Philip Freshley (Marilee) of Watkinsville, GA and Bruce Freshley (Martha) of Mt. Pleasant, SC; son-in-law, Tracy Wilson of Xenia, OH; grandchildren: Taylor Freshley (Morgan), Megan Freshley (Andrew Van Dyk), Palmer Freshley, Hamp Freshley, Sissy Freshley, Leland Freshley; great-grandchildren: June and Rex Freshley, and Daphne Van Dyk; step-grandchildren: Kate Kaura and Allie Wilson.

There will be a visitation and funeral service on Saturday, July 2, with visitation starting at 10:00 AM and funeral service at 11:00 AM at Bernstein Funeral Home in Athens. The service will be followed by a private family burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to one of his favorite organizations served:

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Georgia at https://namiga.org, or

GA Library Service for the Blind at https://gls.georgialibraries.org

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.