William Earl Freeman

William E. “Bill” Freeman was born August 1, 1959, in Waukegan, Illinois. At a young age, Bill was adopted by Willis and Virginia (Schenning) Freeman, and grew up in Kenosha, County, Wisconsin. He graduated from Wilmot High School in 1977. Bill’s family lived near a river, so he could often be found fishing. He rode his bike everywhere and played football in high school. Bill enlisted in the United States Navy on September 11, 1977, and went on to have a distinguished Naval career, until his honorable discharge on August 24, 1988. Bill attained the rank of Hospital Corpsman Second Class, providing care to Marines at Camp Pendleton in California, and earning two Navy Good Conduct Medals, the Navy Fleet Marine Force ribbon, Sea Service Deployment ribbon, and was a Navy Pistol expert. Bill married Regina “Gina” Whitlock on February 15, 1997, at the Robin’s Nest on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado, and to this union, a daughter, Jenny was born. Bill made his home in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, throughout his life, before settling in Omaha, Nebraska. After his time in the Navy, Bill worked as a dispatcher for Chicago Northwestern Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad, and most recently, Union Pacific Railroad. He was an avid sports fan, cheering on the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Cubs, and the Wisconsin Badgers. He loved attending movies, concerts, and playing poker with friends. Bill will be remembered as a loyal, loving, funny, and sometimes, stubborn man. He was a fan of classic rock music, especially “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd. His favorite color was red, and he looked forward to a good prime rib dinner, a nice scotch, or a meal at Hector’s or Farmer Brown’s. He might’ve told you a time or two to, “rub some dirt on it.”. He was a great friend and would do anything to help people out, was very generous, and had a great sense of humor. Bill was a gifted storyteller, who had a special ability to make friends. Above all, he was a hard worker, loved all of his family, and cherished time with Gina and Jenny. Bill passed away unexpectedly at his home in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday, August 24, 2026, at the age of 67 years and 23 days. Bill was preceded in death by his father Willis and mother Virginia Freeman, and two sisters; Devy Morgan and Sandy Huff, as well as his grandparents. Bill is survived by his wife Gina and daughter Jenny Freeman, special family friends Cheryl Sircher, Tom & Karen Sircher, and their children, Tommy (Kristen) Sircher, and their children Thomas and Parker Sircher, and Kristen (Sean) Blough, with their children, Evan, Ben and Blakely, and Sue Gaylor, and her children, Ricky (Jenna) Gaylor, with children, Beau and Briar, Autumn Gaylor (Luke Barrett) with children, Sienna and Kace Barrett and Jerry Gaylor, nieces Kelly, and husband Jake Lorenz, and their son, Jake, Jr., Dina, and husband Aaron Breneman, and their daughter, Zoe, and Dina’s son, Tyson Ward, and Deanna Morgan, and a nephew Mike Mauser.

William Earl Freeman

August 1, 1959 - August 24, 2026