BERNARD RANDOLPH FREELAND
1917-2017
Bernard Randolph Freeland of Austin, Texas and formerly from Bellaire, Texas passed away peacefully Sunday November 19, 2017 at the age of 100. He was born September 6, 1917, in Monumental, West Virginia the youngest of four children to Enoch R. and Alice T. Freeland.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 where he eventually became a navigator of a B-24. Bernie flew in 13 missions over Italy. After the war in Europe ended he flew several mercy missions delivering food to starving Italians. In 1945 Bernie was transferred back to the states, where he ended his active duty and later enlisted with the Air Force Reserves which he served for 36 years retiring as a Major.
Bernie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1948 and began a career as a business analyst for Stanolind Oil and Gas which eventually became Amoco Oil then BP Oil Corporation.
As a life member of the Houston Men’s Garden Club, Bernie showcased his gardening talents not only at his home, but by volunteering at the Bellaire Nature Center at Pittman Park, and as a long time participant of the landscaping committee at Bellaire Methodist Church, where he was a member until he moved to Austin in 2009. Bernie was a loyal Scout leader, taking the scouts on exciting canoeing, camping and backpacking adventures throughout the United States. He was an avid beekeeper and kept the neighborhood well stocked with honey. He served as president of the Houston Genealogical Society and created an extensive Freeland family history.
Traveling was one of Bernie’s passions. His adventures carried him from canoeing the Amazon River in Brazil, hiking the Great Wall of China, camping in Siberia to see the Whooping Cranes, to helping in Romanian orphanages. He was always an environmentalist and was a life member of the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club. He was proud knowing that he had stepped on every continent and dipped his toe in every ocean.
In June 1946, Bernie married May Blackhurst of Cass, WV. They spent 63 wonderful years together before her death in 2009. Bernie is also preceded in death by one daughter Alicia Linda Freeland. He is survived by two daughters, Jean Shoup (Mike) of Brenham, Texas, and Bernadine Bering (Conrad) of Austin; one son Thad Freeland (Monica) of Mulberry, Arkansas; three grandsons, Randy Shoup (Hana), Nick Shoup, Allen Freeland; four granddaughters, Kelly Shoup Anderson (Jared), Hannah Bering, Moira Bering, and Kelsey Freeland; one great grandson, Jared M. Anderson.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Bellaire Methodist Church, Bellaire, Westlake Methodist Church, Austin, Bellaire Methodist Boy Scout Troop, or to the Hana and Arthur Ginzbarg Nature Discovery Center, Bellaire. A celebration of life will be held January 27, 2018 at the Antique Rose Emporium, outside Brenham, from 11:00-2:00. Burial will be later at Arborvale Cemetery in Greenbank, WV. Cook-Walden Funeral Home in Austin to leave a memory. For more information email rental@weareroses.com.