William Freeman
OBITUARY
With sadness, we announce the recent passing of William Howard Freeman on June 22, 2026.
Bill was born in Riverside, California on August 8, 1929, to William Percy Freeman and Estella Anita Loustaunau. With the Great Depression, Bill’s father tried his hand prospecting in the pocket gold country surrounding the Rogue River near Gold Hill, Oregon, where Bill spent his first few years roaming the woods, primarily under the care of his older sister Delya, and then to Arroyo Grande, California with her and new husband, Victor de Llamas. With the breakout of World War II, he relocated back to Riverside where he boarded with various relatives. He graduated from Riverside Poly High School in 1948 and Joined the Navy in 1949 serving as an air crewman on Navy Patrol aircraft.
Stationed in Honolulu, Bill was able to enjoy his passion for mechanics as a member of the Honolulu Hot Rod Club with his souped up 1931 Ford winning many prizes. After his four years as a Machinist Mate, he enrolled at San Diego City College and graduated with a degree in Aircraft Engines. He worked as a jet engine mechanic at the Naval Aviation deport on North Island and retired as an Aircraft Production Supervisor in 1989. He also joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and retired in 1989 as a Warrant Officer (W-4), Aviation Engineering with 38 years and ten months of military service.
During his lifetime, he continued his passion for hot rods as a member of the Riverside Spinners and finally, as Secretary to the legendary Bean Bandits Racing team in San Diego, famous for building record breaking streamliners and flathead-powered dragsters out of junkyard scrap. He was part of the team’s land speed racing efforts on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah the Dry Lakes of Southern California.
In retirement, he became a serious genealogist, building family trees for numerous family members and friends. He traced his own family roots back to the 1300s and found that he descended from three of the original Mayflower families Brewster, White and Doty. On his mother’s side, he also descended from Juan Bautista De Anza, a governor of New Mexico who negotiated the first treaty with the Apache’s and whose son Juan Bautista De Anza II, forged a new overland route from Mexico to bring San Franciso its first settlers. An enthusiastic volunteer, he donated countless hours to assist senior citizens and veterans.
Married 74 years, he is survived by his wife Susan Van Horne Freeman, daughter Nanci Lynn Wall, sister Cecilia Ann Delucchi and many nephews and nieces.
Bill is interred at Miramar National Cemetery.
Tributes can be posted to https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/WILLIAMHFREEMAN/ad5981