Margery & Arthur Freas Fund

Margery Huston and Arthur Freas met at a USO dance in Palm Beach, FL during World War II. Margery was an Iowa girl, newly enlisted in the Coast Guard, and seeing the ocean for the first time; Arthur was a Pennsylvania boy, in the Army Air Corps, helping figure out techniques for guiding airplane landings by radar. It was 1944 and they were both twenty years old. After the war, Arthur finished up the engineering degree that had been interrupted by military service. They were married in June of 1948, and set about raising a family. Kindness and generosity of spirit characterized Margery and Arthur Freas’ partnership. Having grown up during the depression of the 1930s, and the privations of the war effort, they had both experienced the challenges of living with less than they wanted, or needed – they knew what that felt like. When they could help, they did; they were always watching for the opportunity. Their son Don Freas wrote: As news of their deaths has spread we (children) have received notes from individuals all over the country telling stories of assistance delivered both as letters of encouragement, and help with expenses or expertise. Even a smile, or a few humorous words often stayed in the hearts of the many people they touched. Each of these stories contains a line or two about what a difference their kindness made during a challenging time. Many of these stories have come as a surprise to us, their children. We knew about many of their larger philanthropic efforts: health, education, the arts – but the smaller personal contacts were often not mentioned; there were just too many.