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Line 32: − + − − In 2004, Freeman was unopposed for his sixth term as mayor. In his last contested election in 2000, he narrowly defeated a fellow Republican Joe C. Liles, 303 votes (51 percent) to 295 (49 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State-Parish Elections Inquiry.</ref> Having won his first three terms as a Democrat, Freeman switched to the GOP and secured his fourth term in the 1996 general election over Democrat Andrew D. McGlathery, Jr., 437 (62 percent) to 271 (38 percent).<ref>[http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcpr&rqsdta=09219616 Louisiana Secretary of State-Parish Elections Inquiry<!-- Bot generated title -->]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was within thirteen months of completing a sixth mayoral term. Line 40:
Line 39: − [[Image:Dennis Freeman grave, Logansport, LA IMG 0943.JPG|225px|right|thumb|<span style="font-size:100%;">Dennis Freeman's grave in [[Logansport, Louisiana|Logansport]] Cemetery</span>]] − +
no edit summary
Susan F. <br>
Susan F. <br>
Kathy F. Alger
Kathy F. Alger
|party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party Republican]]
|party= [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|occupation= [[Insurance]] agent
|occupation=[[Insurance]] agent
|religion= [[United Methodist]]
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
}}
}}
Steve Stephens of Logansport said that his friend Freeman did a "magnificent job and will be sorely missed. ... Dennis understood problems and knew how to get things done in government. His death is a loss for this community and this area." Near the end of his life as he fought [[cancer]], Freeman was also attempting to mitigate the closure of a Georgia Pacific plywood plant, the largest employer in Logansport. He worked with state and local agencies to help displaced workers and to procure solutions to the economic gap created from the loss of the plant.<ref name="The Shreveport Times">[http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071127/NEWS01/711270322/1002/NEWS The Shreveport Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Steve Stephens of Logansport said that his friend Freeman did a "magnificent job and will be sorely missed. ... Dennis understood problems and knew how to get things done in government. His death is a loss for this community and this area." Near the end of his life as he fought [[cancer]], Freeman was also attempting to mitigate the closure of a Georgia Pacific plywood plant, the largest employer in Logansport. He worked with state and local agencies to help displaced workers and to procure solutions to the economic gap created from the loss of the plant.<ref name="The Shreveport Times">[http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071127/NEWS01/711270322/1002/NEWS The Shreveport Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Early years, education, civic leadership==
==Background==
Freeman was the youngest of six sons born to L. L. Freeman and Britt Annie Freeman in Joaquin in Shelby County in east Texas, located across the Louisiana line from Logansport. He graduated from [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] and earned his livelihood for nearly forty years as an independent [[insurance ]] agent. As Logansport mayor, he worked to procure grants for water, streets, sanitary sewers, parks and local government operations. He was an officer of the Louisiana Municipal Association and a board member of the Sabine River Authority. He was a director for the Bank of Logansport.<ref name="Legacy.com Secure Server"/>
Freeman was the youngest of six sons born to L. L. Freeman and Britt Annie Freeman in Joaquin in Shelby County in east Texas, located across the Louisiana line from Logansport. He graduated from [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] and earned his livelihood for nearly forty years as an independent [[insurance]] agent. As Logansport mayor, he worked to procure grants for water, streets, sanitary sewers, parks and local government operations. He was an officer of the Louisiana Municipal Association and a board member of the Sabine River Authority. He was a director for the Bank of Logansport.<ref name="Legacy.com Secure Server"/>
Freeman was charter president of his local Lions International, [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Logansport Development Corporation, and Logansport Athletics Booster Club. He was active in the DeSoto Parish Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="Legacy.com Secure Server"/>
Freeman was charter president of his local Lions International, [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Logansport Development Corporation, and Logansport Athletics Booster Club. He was active in the DeSoto Parish Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="Legacy.com Secure Server"/>
==Political campaigns==
==Political campaigns==
Elected as a [[Democratic Party)|Democrat]] in 1984, 1988, and 1992, Freeman switched parties and won thereafter as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] in 1996, 2000, and 2004. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]] in District 7 in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007, even though he had been undergoing treatment for the cancer that took his life a month later. He received 1,427 votes (11 percent), having finished last in a five-candidate field. The seat, which covers all of DeSoto and ten precincts of adjoining Caddo Parish, went to a Republican, [[Richard Burford]] of Stonewall]], the easy winner of the November 17 [[general election]]. Burford is a former three-term member of the DeSoto Parish Police Jury.<ref>[http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102007 Louisiana Secretary of State-Multi-Parish Elections Inquiry<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919060943/http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102007 |date=September 19, 2008 }}</ref> Had Freeman been elected, he would not have lived to have taken the seat on January 14, 2008. Burford gave up the seat in 2016 in an unsuccessful bid in 2015 for the Louisiana State Senate.
Elected as a [[Democratic Party)|Democrat]] in 1984, 1988, and 1992, Freeman switched parties and won thereafter as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] in 1996, 2000, and 2004. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]] in District 7 in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007, even though he had been undergoing treatment for the cancer that took his life a month later. He received 1,427 votes (11 percent), having finished last in a five-candidate field. The seat, which covers all of DeSoto and ten precincts of adjoining Caddo Parish, went to a Republican, [[Richard Burford]] of Stonewall]], the easy winner of the November 17 [[general election]]. Burford is a former three-term member of the DeSoto Parish Police Jury.<ref>[http://www400.s.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102007 Louisiana Secretary of State-Multi-Parish Elections Inquiry<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919060943/http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcms3&rqsdta=102007 |date=September 19, 2008 }}</ref> Had Freeman been elected, he would not have lived to have taken the seat on January 14, 2008. Burford gave up the seat in 2016 in an unsuccessful bid in 2015 for the Louisiana State Senate.
==Freeman's legacy==
==Freeman's legacy==
Some three hundred gathered at the First [[United Methodist]] Church in Logansport, where Freeman was a member and sang in the choir, to pay respects to a man noted for his personal "passion". The Reverend Kemper Smith said that Freeman was "passionate about what he believed. ... His determination served him well because he was a born leader." Daughter Pamela Kaye Freeman (born 1970) of Logansport addressed the mourners and read from a letter that Freeman's wife, the former Katherine Thomas, then seventeen, wrote to him in 1958:
Some three hundred gathered at the First [[United Methodist]] Church in Logansport, where Freeman was a member and sang in the choir, to pay respects to a man noted for his personal "passion". The Reverend Kemper Smith said that Freeman was "passionate about what he believed. ... His determination served him well because he was a born leader." Daughter Pamela Kaye Freeman (born 1970) of Logansport addressed the mourners and read from a letter that Freeman's wife, the former Katherine Thomas, then seventeen, wrote to him in 1958:
"I admire you for standing by what you think is right." Replied Pam Freeman: "Doesn't that sound familiar?" The Freemans were married for forty-six years. He was survived by two other daughters, Susan and husband Steve Simmons of Frisco, Texas, and Kathy and husband Billy Alger of Logansport, five grandchildren, and three brothers.<ref name="The Shreveport Times"/>F
"I admire you for standing by what you think is right." Replied Pam Freeman: "Doesn't that sound familiar?" The Freemans were married for forty-six years. He was survived by two other daughters, Susan and husband Steve Simmons of Frisco, Texas, and Kathy and husband Billy Alger of Logansport, five grandchildren, and three brothers.<ref name="The Shreveport Times"/>F
Freeman is interred in Logansport Cemetery located near the riverfront. His marker reads "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." The riverfront had been an unattractive briar thicket until Freeman directed its renovation. Now, it is a welcoming entrance off U.S. Highway 84 into Louisiana from Texas. It has a terraced landscape, veterans' memorial, walking paths, gazebo, picnic tables, and a pavilion, mostly financed from grants and private donations.<ref name="The Shreveport Times"/>
Freeman is interred in Logansport Cemetery located near the riverfront. His marker reads "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." The riverfront had been an unattractive briar thicket until Freeman directed its renovation. Now, it is a welcoming entrance off U.S. Highway 84 into Louisiana from Texas. It has a terraced landscape, veterans' memorial, walking paths, gazebo, picnic tables, and a pavilion, mostly financed from grants and private donations.<ref name="The Shreveport Times"/>
Freeman's wife Katherine (born November 14, 1940), a Democrat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voterportal.sos.la.gov/home.aspx?galogin=voter |title=Katherine Freeman, November 1940 |publisher=[[Louisiana Secretary of State]] |accessdate=September 12, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> succeeded her husband as mayor.<ref>[http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/OBITUARIES01/801160355/1046/js07 The Shreveport Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She is listed among the state and local officials who endorsed the unsuccessful reelection bid in 2014 of Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehayride.com/2014/09/landrieus-gop-endorsements-pale-in-comparison-to-2008-election/|title=Landrieu’s GOP Endorsements Pale In Comparison To 2008 Election|publisher=thehayride.com|accessdate=September 12, 2014}}</ref> Freeman's grandson, Thomas "Bryce" Alger was chairman of the DeSoto Parish Democratic Executive Committee from 2012 to 2016.
Freeman's wife Katherine (born November 14, 1940), a Democrat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://voterportal.sos.la.gov/home.aspx?galogin=voter |title=Katherine Freeman, November 1940 |publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State |accessdate=September 12, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> succeeded her husband as mayor.<ref>[http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/OBITUARIES01/801160355/1046/js07 The Shreveport Times<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She is listed among the state and local officials who endorsed the unsuccessful reelection bid in 2014 of Democratic [[U.S. Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehayride.com/2014/09/landrieus-gop-endorsements-pale-in-comparison-to-2008-election/|title=Landrieu’s GOP Endorsements Pale In Comparison To 2008 Election|publisher=Thehayride.com|accessdate=September 12, 2014}}</ref> Freeman's grandson, Thomas "Bryce" Alger was chairman of the DeSoto Parish Democratic Executive Committee from 2012 to 2016.
==References==
==References==