November 14, 2001
Published on November 14, 2001 © 2001- The Press Democrat
BYLINE: Chris Smith PAGE: B2
Athlete and youth sports advocate Margaret Jane Freeman of Santa Rosa died Nov. 6 after a decadelong battle with breast cancer.
Freeman, a competitor in tennis, soccer and volleyball and a leader in youth soccer, was 52.
In the early 1990s, she served two terms on the Sonoma County grand jury.
Her husband, Mike Freeman of Santa Rosa, said the cancer never broke her spirit. ``Her focus was to live life to the fullest and to spend as much time as possible with her family,'' he said.
He said his wife also honored the creed she taught their two daughters: ``Have fun, and be respectful.''
A native of San Francisco, Margaret Freeman became a cytotechnologist -- a laboratory technician specializing in cell biology -- after studying at the University of California campuses at Davis and San Francisco. She and her husband came to Santa Rosa 25 years ago and she went to work for Sonoma County Community Hospital, now Sutter Medical Center. She ended a 12-year career in cytotechnology in the mid-1980s, when she became a stay-at-home mother.
A believer in the benefits of athletics, she coached, with Doug Rackerby, the under-12 Santa Rosa Central Soccer League girls team -- Magic -- that won the State Association Cup in 1992. She also was a leader in the Santa Rosa United Youth Soccer League, serving as a board member and treasurer. Her husband said her advocacy of youth sports led her to help organize the first two sports days for girls at Santa Rosa Junior College.
Freeman also played soccer herself and was so committed to tennis she served as a past president and board member of the Sonoma-Napa-Marin Women's Tennis League. Her husband said she was known in the tennis league and other organizations as a facilitator and a finder of solutions. ``People describe her as a very fair, objective, level-headed person who had kind of an exuberance and passion for life,'' Mike Freeman said. ``Whenever people wanted an unbiased opinion about something, they'd ask Maggie.''
In addition to her other interests, Freeman loved to travel, leading her family on adventures across the state and overseas.
She is survived by her husband and by daughters Carrie Ann Freeman of Corvalis and Katherine Marie Freeman of Berkeley. A memorial service is at 11 a.m. Monday at the Quail Inn at the Oakmont Country Club.
Freeman's family suggests memorial contributions to the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF, P.O. Box 0248, San Francisco 94143, or to the Santa Rosa Youth Athletic Field Trust, 415 Steele Lane, Santa Rosa 95403.
-- Chris Smith Keywords: OBITUARY