Former Milwaukeean Eugene Freedman died on Feb. 19, at the age of 82. The cause of death was chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Born in Philadelphia, Freedman moved to Milwaukee with his family as a child. Following his graduation from Whitefish Bay High School in 1942, he studied at Northwestern University and California Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor of Science degree.
After graduating, Freedman served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
In the late 1940s, Freedman worked in sales at a gift and novelty company in Milwaukee before opening his own manufacturing and distribution company, which later became Freedman-Mathews Corporation.
In 1958, Freedman resigned in order to become one of the founders of Enesco Group, Inc. (currently Enesco, LLC), a gifts and collectibles company based outside Chicago. Freedman served in several management positions there before becoming president and CEO in the late 1960s.
He led the company for over 30 years, as its international sales volume grew to over $500 million. One source of that growth was the renowned Precious Moments porcelain teardrop-eyed figurines. It was Freedman who conceived the idea to turn Samuel J. Butcher’s greeting card and poster art into collectible figurines.
In 1998, he was named founding chairman and chairman emeritus of Enesco. Though he officially retired in 2005, he continued to consult for small gift companies until his death.
“Work charged his battery,” said his son, Rick Freedman of Kirkland, Wash.
A philanthropist, Freedman received numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Fraternal Order of Police and Easter Seals humanitarian awards and Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s highest honor, the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award. The latter award, which has been bestowed upon six U.S. presidents, was presented to Freedman in Maui in 2004 along with an official commendation from Hawaii Governor Laura Lingle.
Roxanne Spillett, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, (of which Freedman was a board member), testified to Freedman’s philanthropy. “Gene maybe stood about 5 foot 7, but he was a giant of a man. He was a kind and gentle soul and he lived his life in a great way – not just to be successful as a businessman, but to give back to society,” she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A dedicated family man, Freedman drove from his home in Glencoe, Ill., to Milwaukee on most weekends that he was not traveling internationally for business, to visit his parents and sister. He made a habit of capping events or toasting his family by saying, “The best is yet to come.”
Freedman died in Maui, where he had a second home.
Besides his son, he is further survived by his wife Ruth Freedman (nee Perchonok), of Glencoe; daughters Penny Freedman of Seattle, Wash., and Nancy (Ben) Remak of Kirkland, Wash.; sister Fran Franklin of Mequon; and one granddaughter.
Funeral arrangements were handled by Blane Goodman Funeral Service, LLC. Services were officiated by Rabbi Marc Berkson at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun on Feb. 26. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery.
The family appreciates memorial contributions to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National Easter Seal Society or Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation.
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