Jay Freeman

Raleigh Jerome “Jay” Freeman, Jr. was born May 30, 1924, to Corrie Lee Benson and R. J. Freeman, Sr., in Dallas, Texas. Jay died December 26, 2008, at his home in Gainesville, Texas. He is preceded in death by his wife Pat and his parents. He is survived by his sons and their families: Jay and Valerie of Dallas, Bill and Melinda of Austin, and Carol and Tim of Dripping Springs; and by grandchildren Zach Freeman and wife Brynn, Lisa Freeman, Melanie Freeman, Dory Sisson and her husband Tim, Adam Phillips; and by great grandson Harry Sisson. He is also survived by sister in law Dorothy Smith and by his beloved cousins.

Jay was born into a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, with whom he grew up surrounded by love, humor, and determination. Jay attended the Dallas public schools and was a proud graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School Class of 1941. His future bride, Patricia Davis, also attended Woodrow in the class of 1942. The school produced many of Dallas’s most outstanding and successful leaders.

Jay volunteered for service in World War II, serving in the Army Air Corps, after training at Hondo, Texas, and his dispatch to the Pacific theater in the Philippines. Pat accepted his proposal of marriage at Union Station in Dallas, they were married October 2, 1943, and she joined him at Hondo until his transfer. As did so many of the Greatest Generation, Jay returned with stories of his adventures and lifelong friends. Among his memories are his responsibility of delivering the payroll and the mail from home to troops in the field. He received many service awards.

Following the war, Pat and Jay settled in Dallas, where they would spend the next 40 years working, raising their three sons, and being a vital part of their schools, church, and community.
In 1973, they built their first home at Lake Kiowa, and formed wonderful friendships there. When the original developer of the subdivision attempted to raise the water service rates, Jay spearheaded an effort by the homeowners’ association to keep the rates reasonable; this effort eventually led to the homeowners’ association buying the water system, financing improvements and tripling the number of customers served. It was this work that earned him his “commission” as Admiral in the Texas Navy bestowed by then Governor Bill Clements.

This kind of commitment was typical of Jay’s service to his community. He routinely volunteered for United Way, read to elementary school children, or made his famous peanut brittle for charity bazaars. He was a lifelong Rotarian and recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow award of Rotary International voted by his peers.

Jay’s professional careers started with his time at “Point of Purchase,” a manufacturing company where he had responsibility for major accounts like Coca-Cola at a young age. Jay then worked for several different organizations selling everything from steel to swimsuits, evaporative coolers to petticoats; winning several sales awards and rising to the position of National Sales Manager at age 40 for the Lady Hathaway Division of Warner Brothers and Pringle of Scotland while he commuted between New York and Dallas. Returning to Texas, Jay began traveling in five states by car doing an average of 50-60,000 miles per year calling on accounts in every small town and large city representing lines of women’s clothing and held four market weeks per year; first in the original Merchandise Mart in Dallas and later in the Apparel Mart. Many of his customers became lifelong friends.
He “retired” from the road in 1986 and, with his daughter-in-law, Valerie, started Prime-Timers, a temporary staffing service for workers forty and older. Not only was he the Vice President of Marketing, he became an influential voice challenging many employers’ myths about older workers. Representing Prime-Timers, he became the local chairman of the local Association of Business and helped make that chapter, as well as the state association one of the most influential organizations promoting business in the state of Texas.
He retired again in 1996, but once again “failed” retirement and was lured back into the Gainesville business community to head up marketing efforts at a local bank. There he created the “Pays for A’s” program rewarding students making good grades and convinced the bank to try other innovative marketing ideas.
Five years later, just when Jay thought that his careers might be winding down, he was asked to expand his role in community service by being appointed to the Gainesville Hospital Board. Later, when the District was officially established as a taxing authority, he was elected twice to the Board of Directors. During his tenure on the Board, the new “Hospital on the Hill” was financed and constructed and, more recently, further expansion of the facilities is underway.
But Jay was never able to quite give up the lure of working with local business. Jay was convinced to join the Community Advisory Board of Landmark Bank and was able to renew many of his earlier banking relationships and marketing ideas. One of the last functions Jay was able to attend was the Annual meeting of the Community Advisory Boards of the branches of Landmark Bank.

Services will be held January 3, 2009 at Whaley United Methodist Church at 10:30 a.m., officiated by family friend Rev. W. C. Hall and by Whaley minister Rev. Jim Goodwin. In lieu of flowers, Jay would have preferred donations to Home Hospice of Cooke County, P.O. Box 936, Gainesville, 76241.