Talitha Reid Freeman, 89

Published 10:08 am Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Talitha Reid Freeman passed away on Thursday night, January 2nd at the ripe old age of 89.

Her beloved husband Gene died almost 11 years before her and her brother, Bob, three years before Gene.

She leaves behind her three children, Laura (Bill), Reid (Una), George (Elizabeth), and grandchildren Alice, Hart, Katharine, Justin, George, Reid, Will, Woods, great grandchildren Ana and Severo, and sister-in-law Elberta.

Talitha had many passions in life. She loved golf and played competitively from childhood on. She had a scratch handicap, was captain of the UK golf team and champion at several clubs, and had seven hole-in-ones. She and Gene traveled the world with clubs in tow, enabling her to chide his unique one-handed swing on six continents.

She was up and out before 6 am most mornings, was an avid farmer and loved to laugh and entertain. She was famed for palpating cows in her Lilly Pulitzer pants (Mom was in the pants, not the cows).

She learned to fly an airplane, mainly so she could remind Gene authoritatively that aerobatics were not allowed when she was on board.

She was very smart, but never let on that she knew as much as she did.

She enjoyed birdwatching, riding horses and fox-hunting, her work at Ashland Garden, Keeneland, and UK basketball and football.

She was very proud of her children and grandchildren and pushed them to work hard and build something great.

Talitha was tough as nails. She never complained about anything. She was a breast cancer survivor. She had metal plates in both her arm and leg where her horse trampled her, enabling her to entertain many at airport security.

Cooking was not a passion of hers. Her children looked forward to TV dinners and crock pot mush so they could dodge some of her half-baked creations like corn pudding without corn, fresh lemonade without sugar, and farm-to-table salad made from thistles and ragweed when she couldn’t find the lettuce.

She loved anything novel or exciting. On the rare occasions when she couldn’t do things herself, she would engage her children, once shaming them into skydiving one weekend, and then signing them up for hang gliding the next.

Talitha diligently supported The Freeman Corporation, a manufacturing company in Winchester. In the late eighties and early nineties, she worked there full time. Her non-stop energy and unshakably happy outlook was and is still a blessing to the company. As in her other activities, Talitha’s motto at the company was “never, never quit”. We learned it then and follow it today. Many there grew to know her well.

Since her sons managed the company (they still do), Talitha was given in the factory the general nickname “Mom”. Typically for her, she enjoyed being called Mom by people she’d met for the first time perhaps an hour earlier.

The last few years of her life were difficult for Talitha. Alzheimer’s had her spending her days waiting patiently for Gene to pick her up so they could get to the golf course. No doubt today they are plotting together on the first tee, preparing to crush their opponents (and lifelong friends) on the way to another victory.

There will be a family graveside service at the Winchester Cemetery at 10:30 am on Friday, January 10th, followed by visitation 4-6 pm at Milward Funeral Home on Broadway.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to The Lexington School or The Garden Club of Lexington. www.milwardfuneral.com