Obituary for MacGregor Freeman
MacGregor Freeman - cherished husband, dear brother, father, friend, architect, and mentor - passed peacefully into rest at Mount Auburn Hospital on October 27 following a short illness. Mac was surrounded by loving family in his final days, and his beloved wife Joan attended him at the end. He was 83.
Mac was the son of the late John and Elizabeth Burditt Freeman of Cambridge, MA. During his school years, he lived in Cambridge with his siblings, Jeff, Anne, and Penelope. The family spent most summers at their family home in Marshfield, MA.
Mac graduated in 1954 from the Shady Hill School in Cambridge and from Belmont High School in 1957. He attended Colby College and graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mac also spent a term at the Boston Architectural Center, where he discovered a love of structure and design, particularly the very detailed work of drafting, spec writing, and construction management. Ultimately, this led him to graduate study at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned an M.Arch. degree in 1968.
While studying at U.Penn., he started a family with his first wife, Townley (Gamage). After he graduated, they returned to the Boston area, settling in Hingham, MA. Working in Harvard Square, Mac met renowned Cambridge architect Benjamin Thompson. Thompson recognized Mac's hard work, initiative, and eye for detail, and in 1971, Mac joined Thompson's architecture firm, Benjamin Thompson & Associates, Inc. Mac worked on projects both in the U.S. and abroad, becoming one of the firm's partners in the 1980s. He retired in the mid 2010s.
The Freeman family is wonderfully musical, and Mac played guitar, stand-up bass, and piano for much of his life, harmonizing to bluegrass, folk, gospel, and musical scores with his siblings, other family, children, and friends. Mac was also always drawn to fast motorcycles and race cars, at one time owning a Royal Enfield café racer and a Moto Guzzi inherited from his younger sister. He often attended vintage motorcycle and sidecar races in Loudon, NH with family and friends, and later his children, and in his youth he regularly attended classic sports car races at Thompson Speedway and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, and occasionally venturing as far west as Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. Among his greatest joys were amateur astronomy, building rock walls, hiking in New England and Switzerland, and most recently, rising early to read the paper, studying maps and dictionaries, and spending every day with his dear Joan.
Mac's turns of phrase were always memorable, and in any remembrance of him, shared stories are followed by gales of laughter. The people around him learned from him every day. He believed in rolling up his sleeves and doing the work, whether it was clearing a jam out of the photocopier, conquering a jungle of poison ivy, vacuuming before the cleaners arrived, or doing the host's dishes at a holiday gathering. From his youth, Mac was an early riser with a conservation mindset, always careful with water, power, and other resources. He never thought it was "someone else's job" - what he could do, he always did.
Mac thrived in environments of order, routine, and beauty, and one of his favorite traditions was his and Joan's annual trip to the mountains of Switzerland. He loved these trips and would plan and pack meticulously every time, preparing for weeks ahead. In Switzerland, they stayed each year with dear friends in places of backyard majesty, lovely seasonal traditions, challenging treks, and savory meals. He continued his most cherished hikes in Appenzell and Pays d'En Haut as recently as a month before his passing.
Mac is survived by his loving wife of thirty-two years, Joan Sindall; his son J. Borden Freeman of Cohasset, MA; his daughter Emily T. Cookson of Denver, CO; their mother, Townley G. Budde of Hingham, MA; his brother Jefferson Freeman (Landa M. Freeman) of Guilford, CT; his sisters Anne Freeman Mayo (Walter H. Mayo) of Middletown, CT and Penelope Freeman Olson of Appleton, ME; his three grandsons, Gunnar A. Smits, Adrian B. Cookson, and Nathan D. Cookson; and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Mac was also predeceased by his daughter Sarah H. Girard.
Two days after Mac's passing, close family gathered to recognize him, celebrate his life, and express their love for Mac and each other. No formal services are planned at this time.
Contributions in his name may be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 10 City Square, Boston, MA 02129 or via their website: https://www.outdoors.org/donate/tribute-gifts.
Mac was the son of the late John and Elizabeth Burditt Freeman of Cambridge, MA. During his school years, he lived in Cambridge with his siblings, Jeff, Anne, and Penelope. The family spent most summers at their family home in Marshfield, MA.
Mac graduated in 1954 from the Shady Hill School in Cambridge and from Belmont High School in 1957. He attended Colby College and graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mac also spent a term at the Boston Architectural Center, where he discovered a love of structure and design, particularly the very detailed work of drafting, spec writing, and construction management. Ultimately, this led him to graduate study at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned an M.Arch. degree in 1968.
While studying at U.Penn., he started a family with his first wife, Townley (Gamage). After he graduated, they returned to the Boston area, settling in Hingham, MA. Working in Harvard Square, Mac met renowned Cambridge architect Benjamin Thompson. Thompson recognized Mac's hard work, initiative, and eye for detail, and in 1971, Mac joined Thompson's architecture firm, Benjamin Thompson & Associates, Inc. Mac worked on projects both in the U.S. and abroad, becoming one of the firm's partners in the 1980s. He retired in the mid 2010s.
The Freeman family is wonderfully musical, and Mac played guitar, stand-up bass, and piano for much of his life, harmonizing to bluegrass, folk, gospel, and musical scores with his siblings, other family, children, and friends. Mac was also always drawn to fast motorcycles and race cars, at one time owning a Royal Enfield café racer and a Moto Guzzi inherited from his younger sister. He often attended vintage motorcycle and sidecar races in Loudon, NH with family and friends, and later his children, and in his youth he regularly attended classic sports car races at Thompson Speedway and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, and occasionally venturing as far west as Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. Among his greatest joys were amateur astronomy, building rock walls, hiking in New England and Switzerland, and most recently, rising early to read the paper, studying maps and dictionaries, and spending every day with his dear Joan.
Mac's turns of phrase were always memorable, and in any remembrance of him, shared stories are followed by gales of laughter. The people around him learned from him every day. He believed in rolling up his sleeves and doing the work, whether it was clearing a jam out of the photocopier, conquering a jungle of poison ivy, vacuuming before the cleaners arrived, or doing the host's dishes at a holiday gathering. From his youth, Mac was an early riser with a conservation mindset, always careful with water, power, and other resources. He never thought it was "someone else's job" - what he could do, he always did.
Mac thrived in environments of order, routine, and beauty, and one of his favorite traditions was his and Joan's annual trip to the mountains of Switzerland. He loved these trips and would plan and pack meticulously every time, preparing for weeks ahead. In Switzerland, they stayed each year with dear friends in places of backyard majesty, lovely seasonal traditions, challenging treks, and savory meals. He continued his most cherished hikes in Appenzell and Pays d'En Haut as recently as a month before his passing.
Mac is survived by his loving wife of thirty-two years, Joan Sindall; his son J. Borden Freeman of Cohasset, MA; his daughter Emily T. Cookson of Denver, CO; their mother, Townley G. Budde of Hingham, MA; his brother Jefferson Freeman (Landa M. Freeman) of Guilford, CT; his sisters Anne Freeman Mayo (Walter H. Mayo) of Middletown, CT and Penelope Freeman Olson of Appleton, ME; his three grandsons, Gunnar A. Smits, Adrian B. Cookson, and Nathan D. Cookson; and many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Mac was also predeceased by his daughter Sarah H. Girard.
Two days after Mac's passing, close family gathered to recognize him, celebrate his life, and express their love for Mac and each other. No formal services are planned at this time.
Contributions in his name may be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 10 City Square, Boston, MA 02129 or via their website: https://www.outdoors.org/donate/tribute-gifts.