Visual and performing arts were not extracurricular activities for Cynthia Freeman, but part of her core curriculum. And she not only enjoyed the arts, she actively participated with organizations and groups that promoted them.
“She didn’t understand why people wouldn’t support places like the Atlanta History Museum or the High,” said Dr. Janet Stone, a friend who lives in Savannah. “She felt like everybody should be a member and help support their local arts community.”
Mrs. Freeman worked in the Atlanta art and history communities. She was the assistant director of development and research at the Carter Center in the mid-2000s before she had to retire for health reasons. Though she had hoped to return to work and to supporting the organizations she loved, she was unable to do so, her daughters said.
Cynthia Annette McClendon Freeman of Atlanta died Saturday at St. Joseph’s Hospital of complications from multiple health problems. She was 77. Her body was cremated and a memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Brookhaven Christian Church, Atlanta. H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill, is in charge of arrangements.
For the better part of 20 years, Mrs. Freeman was a homemaker, taking care of her husband, two daughters and even her father in the last years of his life. But after her youngest daughter went to college so did Mrs. Freeman, taking her passion for art and history to the next level.
“I was thankful she chose art history as her major,” said Laura Freeman, a daughter who lives in Charlotte. “That way I wouldn’t take any classes with her, because we went to the same college.”
Mrs. Freeman was born in Memphis but grew up in Dallas, where she graduated from high school. She didn’t go to college at that time, but married Darrell D. Freeman and they soon started a family.
Mrs. Freeman was in her 50s when she decided to go to college, but that didn't bother her. She was determined to get a college degree, said daughter Jan Leslie Therrien of Charlotte. In 1980 she graduated from what was then Armstrong State College, with a bachelor’s in art history.
The Freemans lived in Savannah at the time, but moved to Atlanta shortly after Mrs. Freeman’s graduation. Soon after the move, Mrs. Freeman enrolled at Emory University with plans to pursue a master’s in art history.
“The only problem was she didn’t speak a foreign language and she wasn’t sure about learning one at her age,” said her husband of 59 years. “But that didn’t keep her from doing the coursework.”
Mr. Freeman said his wife put her academic knowledge in action, first working at the Atlanta History Museum and later at the Carter Center. Mrs. Freeman’s job at the Carter Center combined two of her passions, history and politics, her husband said.
Mrs. Freeman was a staunch advocate for education and the arts, looking for ways to bring attention to both as often as possible, friends and family said.
“Her candle burned very brightly,” Dr. Stone said. “She threw off a lot of light to people around her. And when her candle began to dim, she put out as much light as she could before the light went out.”
In addition to her husband and two daughters, Mrs. Freeman is survived by three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and two stepgreat-grandchildren.
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