Freeman is retired teacher, docent
Leona “Lee” Freeman of Bella Vista is a retired teacher who has traveled extensively and now sometimes volunteers as a docent at the Bella Vista Historical Museum.
She grew up in the Scranton, Penn., area but lived in Florida for some 20 years and moved from there to Bella Vista after her husband died, she said. She ended up in this area because her daughter and son-in-law live in Bentonville.
Freeman graduated from Blakely High School in Blakely, Penn., in 1957 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree with a major in chemistry from East Stroudsburg Teachers College, followed later by a master’s degree with a major in biology from Binghamton University.
After college she worked as a hospital lab technician in Braddock, Penn., drawing blood and performing blood tests.
She taught chemistry, biology, general science and environmental science at Endicott, N.Y., for 31 years, earning several grants during the summers. She earned a total of five grants from the National Science Foundation and two from the Department of Energy.
Teaching could be difficult, she said, because she was working full time, raising her daughter and earning her master’s degree.
However, despite the difficulty, she had some highlights. One was that she was named a science fellow by the New York State Science Teachers Association.
She was also involved in drama through a national drama fraternity named Alpha Psi Omega, which she joined in college and was active in afterward.
“I loved that,” she said. “I’m not involved in drama now, but whenever I can I enjoy drama productions in this area.”
Other organizations she was involved in included the Department of Energy and the New York State Science Teachers Association, in which she served as an officer.
She was also a presenter at four science conferences for new science teachers, attended science classes at Cornell University and prepared questions for the New York Regents Exam in Albany, N.Y.
She retired from teaching in 1995 and moved to Florida, where she mentored students in science education.
Her husband, Gerald, was professor emeritus at Broom Community College. He had a grant to study in the Soviet Union, and she accompanied him to study educational processes in the Soviet Union.
She studied biology in a graduate course at the University of Hawaii and studied pharmacology of the rain forest in Iquitos, Peru. She also studied biological habitats in the Galapagos Islands.
She moved to Bella Vista in 2018.
“I’ve traveled through many countries, and through my traveling I became interested in the histories of the countries I traveled to. Therefore when I came to this area I was interested in studying the history of this area,” she said.
After moving to Bella Vista, she went to the museum and spoke to Xyta Lucas, current co-president of the Bella Vista Historical Society. She decided to apply to become a docent.
“I enjoy doing that,” she said. “You meet people from all over and you learn about this area in particular.”
Freeman has two grandchildren who graduated from high school in this area. Her grandson has a degree and works in Arkansas, and her granddaughter will graduate in May with a degree in special education.