Freese, Ted

MONTICELLO - Ted Freese,  90, of Monticello, died Wednesday evening, Oct. 6, 2010, at the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following an extended illness. Funeral services will be held 10:30 Saturday morning, Oct. 9, at the Wayne Zion Lutheran Church, with interment in  Wayne Zion Cemetery. The Rev. Jonathan Kosec will officiate at the services.  Friends may call from 4 until 7 p.m. today at Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello.

  Surviving are his wife, Bernice; two children, Vicki (Larry) Pavelec,  Readlyn, and  Kevin (Donna) Freese, Davenport; and six grandchildren,  Derek (Kristin) Pavelec,  Stratford, Wis., Brett Pavelec, Waterloo, Craig (Jamie) Pavelec, Denver, Sean and Ashley Freese, Davenport, Cory Gamble, San Diego, Calif.

 He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Mary Zumbach; and two brothers, Edwin and George Freese. 

 Theodore Dietrich Freese was born Jan. 12, 1920, in Wayne Township, Jones County, Iowa, near Amber,  the son of Henry Dietrich and Grace Maria (Burrack)  Freese.  Ted attended the rural schools in Wayne Township and graduated from the Monticello Community Schools in 1938.  Ted farmed on the family farm until he entered the U. S. Army during World War II.   He served four years in the First Cavalry Division in the Pacific Theater.  He fought in New Guinea, Guam, the Admiralty Islands and the liberation of the Philippines.  He was part of the detachment that rescued General Wainwright from the Japanese prison camp.  

He returned home and worked as a mechanic for George Bohlken at Bohlken Motors, the Ford dealership in Scotch Grove and later at the Amber Mutual Creamery.   Ted married Bernice Brunscheen on June 21, 1953, at  Zion Lutheran Church in Wyoming.   The couple purchased the Freese family farm near Amber and farmed there until they retired.    

Ted was a life long member of Wayne Zion Lutheran Church, where he was baptized on April 18, 1920, and confirmed his faith on March 25, 1934.   Ted was active in the Amber community serving on the Creamery Board for 25 years and the Jones County Election Board for over 20 years.   He was also a member of the Jones County Farm Bureau, where he chaired the membership drives on several occasions.  Ted served on the ASC Committee and the DHIA Board. 

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