Leamon “Junior” Freeman, Jr.

On the morning of August 3, 2015, Leamon “Junior” Freeman went Home to be with his Lord and Savior; he was 62 years old.  He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 24, 1953.

Junior was preceded in death by his mother Annette Clay. He is survived by his wife Ruth Freeman, father Leamon Freeman and wife Fay, sister Mary Savuto and husband Michael, stepsister Dana Bellingham and husband Jim, stepdaughter Jessica Woods and husband Nathan, stepson James Kline IV, nephew Shawn Savuto and niece Mikayla Savuto. He had 3 grandchildren, Noah, Nehemiah and Grace Woods.

Junior spent most of his adult life in the oil and gas business.  He lived in Montana, North Dakota and Indiana while working as a land man.  Tired of traveling, he moved to Florida where his love of the water and boating had him selling boats.  Upon moving back to Oklahoma, using his oil and gas experience, he accepted a job with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in the oil and gas complaints department and worked there many years until his death.

Junior can best be described as creative, competitive, dedicated and loving, and most of all fun-loving.

Creative:  Junior was an excellent and creative chef.  He took great pride in his Tabasco Caesar salad and unusual salsas.  He could go into anyone’s kitchen and make a gourmet meal out of the left-overs in the refrigerator.  He was a painter and jewelry maker, even making pieces given to Dolly Parton at a rodeo event.  He designed and had made the wedding rings he and Ruth wore based on an influence he found while they were in Hawaii.

Competitive:  Junior won many 1st place awards competing in the salsa category at the state fair.  (Now, someone else will finally have a chance to win.)  Junior took part in competitive jalapeño eating events, played poker with Jerry Mathers “the Beave” in a poker tournament, enjoyed a guy’s night out playing poker now and then, and he also competed in demolition derbies and fished bass tournaments.

Dedicated and loving:  Junior LOVED OU football!  No bigger fan can be found anywhere! He was a member of the “Parrot Head” Club – Jimmy Buffett’s fan club and attend as many of his concerts as he could, even traveling out of state.  He loved his family and would do anything for them.   He spent countless hours searching for that rare “Beanie Baby” for his niece, Mikayla – if she wanted it, he would find it and didn’t care what it costs.  He took his nephew, Shawn, fishing and when Shawn was grown, he taught him how to make his famous Tabasco Caesar salad.  When they were children, he always had new pool toys when they visited him in Indiana and Florida.  He adored and loved Ruth and said he could never repay her for all she had done for him and she feels the same deep love and affection for him; their time together was cut too short. 

Fun-loving:  Junior could make most anything fun.  He loved hosting pool parties and OU football watch parties.  Probably his favorite was the outrageous Halloween parties he and Ruth hosted.  It took weeks to properly plan and decorate.  Costumes were often elaborate.  He also enjoyed scuba diving in the Caribbean, hot air ballooning at Fiesta in Albuquerque and snowmobiling through Yellowstone.  His hearty laugh will be missed by all.

 And there were those shenanigans in his younger days!  All I’ll say is, those of you who were accomplices, and you know who you are, learned from one of the best, although, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing!

Junior’s life was cut short but he lived more fully than most of us ever will.  We are all blessed to have known him.  His hearty laugh, big smile and stories will be missed by all.  We love and miss you Junior.

A celebration of Junior’s life has been set for 1:00 P.M. Saturday, August 8, 2015 at the Britton & Broadway campus of LifeChurch located at 9001 N. Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73114.  Per Junior’s wishes, please wear your favorite OU attire, costume or Hawaiian shirts & shorts.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to LifeChurch, Spaces and Places.

A Tribute to Junior:
http://videos.lifetributes.com/619175