RICHARD FREEDMAN DIES FROM CANCER
`Freedman was a talented, devoted professional, a prolific producer of vital stories to his community'
Editor's note: Mr. Freedman's obituary will appear soon in print and at www.timesheraldonline.com. Editor Jack F.K. Bungart's tribute to his beloved friend and colleague will appear on Sunday.
Richard Freedman, a philanthropic community icon and the heart and soul of this newspaper for nearly three decades, died over the weekend after a courageous bout with cancer. He was 67.
Freedman was diagnosed with cancer of the kidney on Dec. 7. The illness became more aggressive in recent weeks, and Freedman, with the love of his life and wife of 19 years, Megan Freedman, by his bedside, died Saturday morning.
Freedman was a devoted husband to Megan and father to his precious son Cameron, who died tragically at the age of 26 in 2020, and a loving step-father to his wife's three children.
But for thousands of readers of the Vallejo Times-Herald, Freedman for decades was the razor-sharp voice of wit, wisdom, cynicism and a healthy dose of snark for his weekly column, which was must reading for his legion of fans.
More than that, Freedman was the Times-Herald's longtime community editor before retiring on the first day of 2022. He wrote hundreds upon hundreds of stories on not just Vallejo's movers and shakers, but on the many Vallejoans and Solano County residents who shared the same generous, giving spirit he did.
As Times-Herald Editor Jack F.K. Bungart wrote of Freedman in a tribute column upon his retirement: “The man would cover the opening of an envelope if it helped shine a brighter light on what mattered to him: The homeless, the hungry, the disadvantaged, the downtrodden … anyone who deserved a better deal than the one they were getting.”
Bungart said Freedman's
work and contributions to the Times-Herald “will never be matched.”
“Richard was, indeed, the heart and soul of the TimesHerald from the day he walked in these doors,” said Bungart. “He delighted our newsroom on a daily basis with his infectious sense of humor, keeping us guessing and laughing out loud with his hilarious — and painful — puns, his timeless — and sometimes perfectly inappropriate — observations on the working and human condition, and his remarkably generous spirit.
“Aside from that, Freedman was a talented, devoted professional, a prolific producer of vital stories to his community, able to take on any assignment at a moment's notice and produce clean, tight copy quickly enough to beat any deadline imposed on him. He was a journalist's journalist, to be sure.”
Bungart and Freedman began working together in January, 1995, becoming friends immediately. Bungart said he “was gutted” by his friend's death.
“I thought I was ready for Richard's passing — I wasn't,” said Bungart. “He was more than a best friend — he brought immeasurable joy and caring to the lives of myself and my family. I am forever grateful we were in touch daily — hourly courtesy of his never-ending barrage of welcome texts — during his retirement. Losing him leaves a hole in my my life — and my heart — that will never be filled.”
Freedman, a 1979 graduate of San Jose State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, was constantly involved in far too many Vallejo organizations, charities and fund-raising efforts to mention. Among the many joys he had in life, he loved comedy, the music of Brandi Carlile, and the glory and the failings of his San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors.
Above anything else, Freedman loved his family. He would do — and did do — anything for his wife, a son he loved with every fiber of his being, and his growing family of step-children Toby, Charlotte and Beau (Belisle) and grand children with his dear Megan. The two were married on Sept. 26, 2004, in Vallejo.