David Gordon Freese, age 87, of Westside, IA, passed away Monday, July 4, 2022 at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll, Iowa.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at the United Church of Westside with Pastor Kevin Freese officiating. Casket bearers will be his grandchildren: Kelsey Clark, Lindsey Bierl, Abby Freese-Gute, Mackenzie Freese, Austin Freese, Kaleb Johnson, Derek Johnson, Tyler Freese, and Megan Freese. Military Honors will be performed by the Westside American Legion, Post #196. Burial will be in the Wheatland Cemetery at a later date.
Visitation will be held at the United Church of Westside from 4-7 P.M. on Friday evening.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for the family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com.
Dave was born on May 16, 1935 at St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital in Carroll. He attended Westside High School graduating with the Class of 1953. After high school, he was drafted by a professional baseball farm club but decided with all the travel requirements that he would pass on this opportunity. In 1954, he attended Iowa State University for a short time to study agriculture. He then worked as a farm hand for a few years.
On June 23, 1957 he was united in marriage to Ryta Sharp at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. They were blessed with 5 children. In January of 1958, Dave was drafted into the United States Army. During his tour of duty, he served stateside and in Saumur, France. He was honorably discharged in October of 1959 and returned to the farm where he milked cows, raised chickens, hogs, and row crops until the farm crisis in the 1980’s. He then worked various jobs throughout the Westside area; with his last employment driving school bus for Ar-We-Va until he retired in 2020.
Dave was a life-long member of the United Church of Westside. He served on several boards throughout his years including the Ar-We-Va school board from 1967-1988 serving as president for many of those years. In 1984, Dave became a board member of the Western Hills AEA and in 2000, he was elected to a one-year term as president of the ten Iowa AEA Agencies. He also had the great honor of being chosen as the Iowa delegate to the Federal Labor Relations Board in Washington D.C. He served on several committees within the Iowa School Board Association and for the Department of Education in the State of Iowa. Dave was a pillar to his church family, the community, and school district and co-founded the Ar-We-Va Foundation. In 2011, he was inducted into the Ar-We-Va Wall of Fame.
Dave is survived by his wife, Ryta of Westside; children: Brian and wife Cheri of Arcadia, Blair of Westside, Bennett and wife Brenda of Denison, Denise and husband Kraig Johnson of Kansas City, MO, and Bradley of Council Bluffs; Nine grandchildren; Ten great grandchildren; brother, Glenn of Vail; brothers-in-law, Rae Sharp of Indiana, and Ron Schreier of Storm Lake; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents; infant brother, Clifford; sister-in-law, Donna; and nephew, Kary.
