effrey Freeman Obituary

Former Durango resident Jeffrey Alan Freeman died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, in Trenton, Maine. He was 51. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Mr. Freeman was born to Robert and Louise Freeman in Alton, Ill., on Nov. 1, 1957.

He was living in Bar Harbor, Maine, where he had an art gallery, Side Effects, and a workshop in Trenton.

Mr. Freeman's marriage to Amy Freeman ended in divorce.

He lived in Durango from 1991 to 2002, where he had a number of art shows. He worked as the maintenance man for Ariano's Italian Restaurant, the Ore House, Pronto's and Gazpacho New Mexican Restaurant. For years, he was a guest bartender at Gazpacho's on Wednesday nights, where he had quite a following, owner Jim Arias said.

On April 6, 2002, he married Beth Swazey at Isla Mujeres in Mexico.

"He was an accomplished artist, a world traveler and an ardent fly-fisherman who could catch fish from a rock pile," his family wrote. "Jeff's portfolio of art is vast and eclectic. His talents were very much admired by artists and art lovers from Maine to Philadelphia, Chicago and Durango and beyond. His admirers are especially fond of his time travel machine and the Ionizing Trans Mortifier."

Mr. Freeman's artworks included watercolor caricatures, aluminum furniture accented with glass or polished concrete and hypertufa pots he originally made for his wife's gardening business, but which eventually became a major part of his inventory for art shows and his gallery.

"Not exactly a wallflower, Jeff was hard to miss in a crowd," his family wrote, "often appearing in pink plaid pants accessorized with red bowling shoes."

Mr. Freeman was an active member of his community broadcast station WERU.

He is survived by his wife, Beth Swazey, of Bar Harbor; son, Drew Freeman, of San Francisco; father, Robert Freeman, of Alton; and brothers Wayne Freeman of Bozeman, Mont., Doug Freeman of Grafton, Ill., and Kenny Freeman of Dow, Ill.

No services are planned at this time.

Memorial contributions may be sent to WERU, P.O. Box 170, East Orland, ME 04431-0171; the National Endowment of the Arts, Attn. Carrie Holbo, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Room 618; Washington, D.C. 20506; or a Durango charity of one's choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Durango Herald on Oct. 22, 2009.