Richard W. Freeman Jr.

Richard Woodworth Freeman Jr., of Keene, NH, and formerly of Peterborough, NH, Winchester MA, and Newton MA, passed away peacefully in his sleep, age 94, on Thursday, December 29, 2022 at home. He was an active and social man, a proud naval veteran, and a conscientious engineer who loved his family.

Dick was born on January 12, 1928 in Newton, MA, the son of the late Richard Woodworth Freeman and Geneva Ray Corkins. He grew up comfortably in Newton with extended family. After one semester of college, he joined the Navy, was stationed in Hawaii, and maintained ‘Martin JRM Mars’ flying-boats (the largest operational seaplanes), which were used as transport aircraft in the Pacific just after WWII.

After his service, he completed a Bachelor Degree in Engineering at Tufts University. He met Elizabeth (Lisa) Martz when she invited herself sailing with Dick, and her brother Bill. Elizabeth and Dick were married in 1952.

Among his beloved pursuits were sailing and skiing. He began his sailing adventures by learning to sail on Quincy Bay in the summers of his youth. He eventually acquired the 42-foot sloop “Nakoni”, and sailed throughout the waters of New England and the Gulf of Maine with the Bluewater Sailing Club. He also sailed among the Greek Isles, with a small flotilla of friends, and piloted a canal boat in the south of France. Dick spent winters skiing since his childhood. As a teenager he’d take the snow train to North Conway and hike up ski trails (before the installation of lifts), to then ski down, including Tuckerman’s Ravine. After marriage, Dick and Lisa joined the White Mountain Ski Runners, one of the oldest family ski clubs in the United States. The ski club eventually purchased an old summerhouse in North Conway/ Intervale where they put time and resources into creating a winter lodge that would accommodate up to 50 enthusiastic skiers, enabling Dick and Lisa to ski and raise their children in a delightful family skiing environment.

Dick was sociable and believed that it was important to give back to the local community. He applied his engineer’s perspective to creating/coordinating access to youth recreation, local water quality improvement, organizing a Tufts reunion, as well as overseeing infrastructure upgrades for ski club and abutting properties. Being so outgoing, he garnered the friendship of many and would host holiday parties with a broad spectrum of guests, which made for lively evenings that were greatly enjoyed. Many have said that they could not have had a better neighbor than Dick Freeman.

Richard began his career in the aerospace industry as a test engineer at the Naval Supersonic Lab at MIT, then later at Avco Corp., followed by a consulting practice. At Avco, among other projects, he and his team tested the heat shield materials that would be used on the Apollo spacecraft to ensure that the capsule and astronauts would not burn up upon reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. Due to the heat shield’s great success then, 50 years later the same material was used on the Orion capsule, which returned from the moon last month.

After purchasing a home in Winchester, MA, Dick and Lisa raised their two children Eric and Christopher, instilling in them a love of skiing and sailing. After the children left the nest, Dick and Lisa spent time sailing and traveling, including trips to Europe and New Zealand. Eventually, they moved to Peterborough, NH where Dick had an excuse to purchase a tractor (one of his passions) and care for 13 acres of wood lot and field/garden. After Lisa passed away in 2012, Dick met Barbara Campbell, a talented artist from Hancock, NH and spent the later years of his life with her. They spent much time together traveling on cruise ships, cross-country trains, and by car. They spent summers with family on the outer reaches of Cape Cod, then by themselves in Castine, Maine. Dick was also able to tend Barbara’s acreage in Hancock before moving to Hillside Village (renamed Covenant) in Keene where he spent his final years.

Dick is survived by Barbara and his two sons, Eric Alden Freeman of Wayland, MA, and Christopher Atwood Freeman of Oakland, CA; his daughter-in-law Kathleen J. Freeman, and grandson Alexsandr R. Freeman (Eric’s wife and son).

Services and military honors for Richard will be held in the chapel at the Blossom Hill Cemetery, 207 North State Street, Concord, NH on Monday, January 9, 2023 at 11:30am.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made in the name of Richard W. Freeman to the Special Olympics (https://www.specialolympics.org/get-involved/donate).