Doris Hunter Freeman

Our dear friend, Doris Hunter Freeman, died Friday morning, February 3, 2017, at Mayview Convalescent Center in Raleigh. She was the daughter of Robert Herman Freeman, M.D. and Katharine May Kinback Freeman and the sister of Claire Elizabeth Freeman all of whom lived in Raleigh and predeceased her.

Surviving her are her godsons, James Fletcher Goodmon and Raymond Hayes Goodmon, III; their wives, Barbara and Susan; and their children, Elizabeth, Jimmy, Michael, and Louis.

Doris was born in Raleigh on January 3, 1919 and lived her early years in the Boylan Heights and Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhoods. As an adult she and her sister Claire shared a home on Fairview Road. Having lost their mother at a very young age the sisters were nurtured and loved by their father; a childhood nurse, Mary Alston; cousins, Lily Bell Hunter and Iva Hunter of Wake Forest; maternal grandparents, Anthony and Etta Dunlap Kinback of Peckville, Pennsylvania; and their Fletcher neighbors, especially Betty Lou Fletcher Goodmon.

The sisters were proud of their Wake County heritage and ancestor Isaac Hunter who was their great-great-great grandfather. It was by the order of the Hillsborough Convention in 1788, that the state capital would be located within 10 miles of his tavern. Although Doris lived most of her life in Raleigh, she developed an adventuresome spirit. Doris and Claire, as children, traveled every summer by automobile with their father to Pennsylvania to visit their mother’s relatives. Along the way they made excursions to New York City, Niagara Falls, and Washington, D.C. Upon returning to Raleigh they sometimes took the train unattended. As young children they enjoyed going to Wake Forest to visit relatives and to Milburnie Fishing Club to picnic.

Doris attended Loulie Busbee’s Kindergarten, Lewis School, Broughton High School (Class of 1936), and Hardbarger’s Secretarial and Business School. She audited classes at North Carolina State University from 1970-86. Doris was a lifelong member of Hayes Barton Baptist Church where she taught a Sunday school class for 5-6 year olds and sang in the choir. For 40 years she was scheduling officer for the Department of Economics and Business at North Carolina State University. She was honored as Staff Employee of the Year in 1984. In a letter of endorsement for this honor, a professor in her department described her tremendous capacity for getting along and working with people. He went on to recall a conversation he had with Doris early in his career, “When I first arrived at the University in 1968 it was Doris Freeman who told me that the South was being changed as energetic, quick-moving Yankees (like me) were infiltrating the ranks of more deliberate and slower-paced native Southerners (like her). At the time, I—young and naïve—took this as serious social commentary. Now I know—and you can see—that Ms. Freeman indeed has a highly refined and sometimes ironic sense of humor!” During her career, she took leave of her employment and served two years with the American National Red Cross in Japan and Korea (1958-60). Upon retirement in 1985 she volunteered at Rex Hospital often delivering flowers to patients.

Our memories of Doris recall a petite woman who had a twinkle in her blues eyes, a smile on her face, and a story to tell. She was funny, smart, charming, and caring.

Children in particular were drawn to her with rapt attention as she told them pirate tales of “Raw Head and Bloody Bones” and otherwise encouraged them to use their imagination. With a childlike spirit, she made whimsical seasonal decorations. In the kitchen she was in charge of cooking only two items…a well perfected potato salad and an Italian Cream Cake. Those lucky enough to be invited to lunch or supper with Doris and Claire, rarely declined. In a 1968 Raleigh Times column, Alice Ehrlich said of her friends, “a visit to their home is an adventure into the joy of charming hospitality.” An avid book reader she was a long time member of the Cosmopolitan Book Club. Her love for all animals especially her cat family of Baby Boy, Buffie, Nippie, Wylie, and Isadore brought her great delight. It is a sad day to place Doris’ obituary in her beloved News and Observer. It is, however, a happy day, a day in which we celebrate a life truly well lived. We have been blessed in countless ways by her friendship. Her memory comforts us and reminds us how important friends of all ages add meaning to our life. Furthermore, her life serves as a reminder on how to live life now, to remember happy memories that sustain us, and to be thankful for all that has been. It is our attitude about living that counts. Doris appreciated all the care she received during her years of declining health.

A graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery on Monday, February 6, 2:30 pm. Dr. David J. Hailey will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Hayes Barton Baptist Church, 1800 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608 or Transitions Life Care, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607, or a charity of one’s choice.

Funeral arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary’s St. Raleigh, NC 27605.