Janet Helfrich Freeman

FREEMAN, HELFRICH, BROWN, ELLIOTT, MORENO, FRESCO, PACKHAM

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 3/3/2025 at 07:25:09

Janet Helfrich Freeman, 96, died on February 19, 2025 at Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City.

Ms. Freeman was born on May 30, 1928, the third of the four children of John Howard Helfrich and Elsa Freeman Helfrich. She was the mother of Sarah Freeman Brown, Emily Freeman Brown, Marianne E. Brown and Marta Elliott; the grandmother of Andrew Wade Moreno, Peter Neil Moreno, Nicholas Albert Fresco, Benjamin Elliott Packham and Timothy Elliott Packham; and the great-grandmother of Albert James Fresco, Amelia Day Fresco and Eleanor Janet Yang Moreno. Her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews, survive her.

Ms. Freeman grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. She was educated at Carleton College, Smith College, and the University of Iowa. She retired from Denison University in Granville, Ohio as Professor Emerita of English in 1995, but continued to teach in the continuing education program at Kirkwood Community College until 2015. She was a long-time reading mentor at Willowwind School as well as a member of the school’s Board of Trustees. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Iowa City Public Library.

Ms. Freeman’s teaching, her reading and writing, and her family became the focuses of her long life. Her gratitude for all these gifts never faded.

A service for Ms. Freeman will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City at a later date where she was an active member for many years. Private interment will be at Oakland Cemetery.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

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