Deanna Jean Freitag passed away Saturday, July 13, 2019, at home.

Deanna was born October 20, 1937, in Homer, NE to Maynard and Virgie Anderson. Though the family moved often, Deanna considered Lincoln, NE, her childhood home. She shared countless tales of growing up with 10 siblings and felt fortunate to have been born in the middle and was close to them all from the oldest to the youngest. Deanna graduated from Blair High School in 1955.

Deanna and Orin Freitag enjoyed 58 years of marriage, until his death on February 9, 2015. After that, Deanna continued to make us laugh with previously untold anecdotes about their lives together with their three daughters.

A lifelong learner, Deanna always emphasized education. She graduated from Midland University in 1970 with a bachelor's in education and earned a master's degree in education from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She taught in the English department at Fremont Senior High and took on many leadership roles during her 27 years of teaching including FEA president.

Once retired, Deanna did not slow down. She traveled near and far, though the majority of her retirement hours were devoted to volunteering. She gave her time willingly to Meals on Wheels (including serving as its director), the Hospital Auxiliary, Louis E. May Museum, and the United Methodist Church's By My Side tutoring program. Deanna earned the honor of Fremont's Volunteer of the Year.

Outside of volunteering, Deanna stayed active in PEO, several book clubs, quilting with her church group, starting the prayer shawl initiative and her many activities with her treasured Bridge Club friends.

Deanna loved her daughters, adored her seven grandchildren, and was head-over-heels for her eight great-grandchildren. Daughters: Leta Fornoff, Shanda (Christopher) Berg, Debra (Dean) Carstens. Grandchildren: Lauren (Roy) Schroeder, Brant Horacek, Blake (Jackie) Horacek, Linden Fornoff , Alexa (Tim) Wahl, Mitch (Sarah) Carstens, and Sam (Nicole) Carstens. Making Deanna laugh was the absolute best, and no one could do it like her littles, great-grandchildren: Kyren, Caroline, Emilee, Nora, Orson, Thomas, Theo and Rosemary. She also considered Chris Fornoff, Mitch Treu and Katie Londenberg family.

Join us for a celebration of Deanna's life at United Methodist Church in Fremont, NE, on Friday, July 19 at 11:00. A luncheon will follow.

To honor Deanna's memory please consider volunteering in your community or donating to St. Jude's Hospital, one of her favorite charities. Together, we can continue to bring light and love into our world just like Deanna did.

Source: https://fremonttribune.com/news/local/obituaries/deanna-jean-freitag/article_2df2e793-c949-51cb-a9e5-4a07be9c91ab.html