Its a race against the clock for Jennifer Freemans latest homage to her father, the late coaching luminary Bill Freeman.
The elder Freeman was one of the most successful high school football and track coaches in Kansas history, having racked up eight state titles on the gridiron in Le Roy, Osawatomie and Lawrence, while winning two other state track and field titles at Lawrence.
He coached for 35 years before hanging up his whistle and settling down in Le Roy, where he became a banker and was town mayor.
Bill Freeman died in 2015 following a yearslong battle with Alzheimers disease.
Jennifers efforts to honor her father, and aid other families affected by Alzheimers has taken various forms through the years.
She spearheaded a successful effort in 2014 to get her father inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, before she successfully lobbied the state in 2016 to consider implementing license plates in honor of Alzheimers victims (although more orders are needed for the plates to begin production).
Her latest venture comes in story form.
With the assistance of a ghost writer, Jennifer has penned The Heart of a Champion, which tells her fathers life story.
My father was such a humble man, but he was a great man, she told the Register in a recent telephone interview. I got the idea about a year ago, and wanted to tell his story.
Heart of a Champion traces Coach Freemans roots as a Burlington native.
After playing football at Burlington High and then Emporia State University, Freeman started coaching in 1954 at Parker High School. From there, he went to Le Roy, leading the football program there to a state title, and then to Osawatomie, where he won two more. It was in Lawrence that Freeman reached his highest acclaim, leading the Lions to five more state titles, and two others in track.
Following his retirement in 1990, Freeman returned to Le Roy, where he owned First National Bank of Le Roy. He also served as Le Roy mayor for 31 years.
Jennifers book also covers her fathers other health battles against prostate cancer and heart disease prior to his Alzheimers diagnosis in 2012. The final chapter details the diseases progression until his death in December 2015.
IT TOOK about eight months for Jennifer to complete her fathers biography.
Through the process, she heard from several of his former players, including Osawatomie and Kansas State University quarterback Lynn Dickey.
Dickey, who went on to play in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers, earned all-pro status for the Packers in 1983.
