Virginia Corley Freeman of Sylvania, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina died on October 22, 2022 after a long life of service to her church, family and community. She was 95 years old.
Virginia was a graduate of the Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Emory University School of Nursing in Atlanta, where she served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps until the end of World War II.
Virginia married Dr. James C. Freeman in 1948. After living in Columbia, South Carolina while he completed active duty in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, they moved to Dr. Freeman’s hometown of Sylvania, Georgia where he practiced Family Medicine for 38 years. Mrs. Freeman was a member of the Sylvania First United Methodist Church. In addition to singing in the choir, she was an organizing member of the Ellis Miller Sunday School Class and taught in the Sunday School, the Additional Sessions program, and the Vacation Bible School.
She was a member of the church’s Official Board and the Board of Trustees. She served as President of the United Methodist Women and was an Honorary Member of the Board of Directors of the North Tennessee Bible Institute. For over 30 years, she was an affiliate member of the St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Mrs. Freeman was an active member of the Sylvania Women’s Club. She held membership in the Screven County Farm Bureau and was an organizing member of the Screven County Red Cross Blood Bank. She served as a Volunteer Leader in the Screven County, Southeast District, and Georgia State 4-H Clubs. She was a member of the Auxiliary to the Medical Association of Georgia and the National League of Nursing Education. After raising five children, Mrs. Freeman returned to Nursing, providing patient care in the Family Medicine offices of her husband and her daughter, Marian Lane, MD.
Mrs. Freeman had a lifelong passion for Genealogy. She traced her family lineage back to Pilgrim ancestors who arrived in Massachusetts in the early 1600’s and to English forebears as far back as 1215. She belonged to the National Society Magna Charta Dames, the Plantagenet Society, the Americans of Royal Descent and the Huxford Genealogical Society. She held offices in the Brier Creek Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the Adam Brinson I Chapter, Colonial Dames of the XVII Century.
In her later years, she felt blessed to live on Hilton Head Island, where she cherished the beaches, water views and visits by her family. She relished the daily “parade” of families with children passing by her porch, heading to or coming from the beach. She particularly enjoyed hosting family gatherings at the Sea Pines Country Club, where she was a long-time member.
Dr. Freeman preceded her in death. Mrs. Freeman was the matriarch, in the best sense of the word, of an extended family. She is survived by a son, James Cleveland Freeman, Jr. and his wife Diane of Sylvania; Shirley Day and her husband, Dr. Thomas E. Day of Augusta, Georgia; Dr. Marian Lane and her husband, David Patrick Lane, Jr. of Sylvania; Dr. Dorothy Freeman and her husband, Dr. Michael D. Stone of Rancho Mirage, California; and Margaret Peterson and her husband, Marshall D. Peterson of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Mrs. Freeman was “Ginny” to her nine grandchildren and adored by all: Anna Batzig(Nick) of Charleston, South Carolina; Helen Lane of Dallas, Georgia; Thomas E. Day, Jr. (Laura) of Atlanta, Georgia; David P. Lane, III (Nicole) of Statesboro, Georgia; Kate Haslam (Mark) of Savannah, Georgia; Katharine Peterson of Atlanta, Georgia; Corley Stone of Manhattan, New York; James C. Freeman III (Casey) of Atlanta, Georgia; and James Peterson of Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is survived by eight great grandchildren and fourteen nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 2:00pm at the First United Methodist Church of Sylvania with Rev. Nick Batzig and Rev. Dorsia Atkinson officiating. The family will receive friends for an hour prior to the service in the Fellowship Hall.
Pallbearers will be Thomas E. Day, Jr., David P. Lane III, Mark Haslam, James C. Freeman III, Mark Irzhak, and Max Manack.
Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Brier Creek National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and members of the Ellis Miller Sunday School Class.
In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Freeman requested that memorial donations be made to the Choir Fund of the Sylvania First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 258, Sylvania, Georgia 30467, or to the Brier Creek Chapter of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, c/o Cathy Black, DAR Treasurer, 5640 Statesboro Hwy, Sylvania, Georgia 30467.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com
Joiner Anderson Funeral Home Screven Chapel is in charge of all arrangements.
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