M. Susan Freese

Susan’s work on earth is done. She has retreated to a spiritual plane overhead that we will all achieve too. She has joined all her beloved ancestors and will fill them with stories of those left behind. She will wear the most elaborate of hats (her own design) to the best of places and will laugh and love without reservation. She would want us to celebrate her life, and if you knew Susan, you did what you were told. She had high expectations and low tolerance for those who didn’t adhere to her standards.

M. Susan Freese, passed away on 28 December 2020. She was born on November 16, 1946 to James O. and Selma Jacob Freese of Edinburgh. She was preceded in death by her mother and father and leaves behind her son Andrew Jacob Douglas Freese (Lauren), her sister Ruth Freese (Ken Grogan) and her nephew James “Woody” Grogan (Kate Ferguson).

She graduated from Edinburg HS in 1965 and went on to get degrees from Butler University in Merchandising and Buying, from Indiana University in Textiles and Design and from Ivy Tech in Graphic Design.

Susan was a multitalented person. In her teens, she was an accomplished equestrian, soloed in light aircraft as soon as her age allowed, and was an award-winning artist. Her first job after college was as an assistant buyer at Lord & Taylor Department store in NYC. From there, she worked at the Kinsey Institute Library at IU, she was a buyer for the Independent Grocers Alliance, worked as a buyer for Zayres, sold insurance and was a graphic designer. She taught at IU, Ivy Tech, and Marion College. Her favorite job was her last, as an award-winning milliner.

She was active in her community. She was an elder in the Edinburgh Presbyterian Church, attended Leadership Johnson County, served on the Board of the Johnson County Museum, was secretary of the Edinburgh Merchant’s Association, and was president and secretary of Edinburgh Kiwanis.

Susan also enjoyed competitive bodybuilding when she lived in Colorado, biking, hiking, cross country skiing, sewing, artwork?both in oils and photography?and traveling.

A graveside service will be held on April 23rd at 11 AM at Rest Haven Cemetery in Edinburgh, IN. If you care to make a donation in her memory, please send it to either the Edinburgh Presbyterian Church, 306 East Main Cross, Edinburgh, IN 46124 or the Johnson County Humane Society at 3827 Graham Rd, Franklin, IN 46131.

Arrangements made by Eskew-Eaton Funeral Home in Edinburgh, Indiana.