The Passing of Brother William Freutel

Bro. William F Freutel III, age 74, of Delaware, passed away on Monday March 5, 2018.
There are no services scheduled at this time.

A letter from his son, Brother Doug Feutel:

Many of my friends that knew my dad would tell me that I am just like him. It was always funny that my first thought would be how my mom would remind me, you’re just like your father! Not saying it as a compliment, but always when she was mad at me, which was often. I am proud that in many ways I am like my dad. He taught me a good work ethic, while many would say, workaholic, what they don’t understand is finding a career that you love. My dad never complained about having to work hard to support my mom, brother and I. In fact, he embraced being a truck driver and his love of the road. Traveling the U.S. and see the beautiful countryside. Something I did not understand until I started riding motorcycles with him. My dad taught me personal responsibility. He not only worked hard as a responsible husband and father, but he always took it as a responsibility to help others when he could. He loved working with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and helping others. My dad would always be first to lend a hand to others if it did not interfere with taking care of his family. He believed if you can help, it was your responsibility to help.

He taught me humility. He was never one to boast about the things he did for others or his accomplishments. He taught me honesty. I can never think of a moment that my dad was ever dishonest with me or anyone. While I may have picked up a bit of my mom’s don’t let the whole truth get in the way of a good story, my dad taught me not to lie or be deceitful. He taught me never try anything, always DO! My dad never dabbled in anything he did, when he would get into something, he would go full bore. He would get the best equipment, and he would do things at 100%. He did this with breading champion German Shepherds, his racing of Corvettes, all the way to his championships in trap shooting. More importantly, he taught me to share your passions. He shared racing with my mom, my brother and myself, and took as much, if not more pride in our success as his own. He loved it anytime he could teach others about something he was passionate about.

My dad bore the fruits of a Christian. He never wore his faith on his sleeve, but his service to his family and others truly exhibited a man who tried to live a faithful life. His dedication to taking care of, and being with my mom showed living a life of love and most importantly forgiveness. He showed unconditional love for her and was always depressed when they would be separated. He loved going to church. When he was in South Carolina, he would often go alone, even if my mom was homesick. He especially loved going with me when he could. Despite the Alzheimer’s and arthritic pain, he would jump at the opportunity to go to church with me, take communion and go to dinner after. He especially loved it when my brother joined us. He was never one to express his feeling, another thing we share, but he would always talk about how great it was to see Chaz and how proud of him he was. Things that he never much would say directly to us, but where we would hear his pride through others who would share his comments to them.

My dad was a great FreeMason. He took great pride in the hard work he had to put in to become a 32nd Degree, Master Mason. The amount of memory work required to become a Master Mason was a big thing for him, being a high school educated truck driver. He loved being a Shriner. Being able to load his motorcycle with teddy bears and deliver them with my mom to children at the Shriners Hospitals was one of his greatest pleasures. He loved taking my mom to the Shrine New Year’s Eve Dances every year for so many years. As much as he hated wearing a suit, he would do it for my mom. He loved being a Windows Son, which is the Masonic Motorcycle Riding Association. It was something that he could share with me, and while he was late in his dementia, I knew he was proud to see me become President of our chapter this year.

All in all, my dad was a great dad and a good friend. He loved my friends and always wanted to know how they were doing. He would always want to know when the next time he could go riding with Zach and his brothers. He made me a better man, Christian, and citizen. There is no doubt in my mind that he is not in heaven with my grandmother and cousin looking down over us and looking forward to our reunion. As much as I thought I was prepared for his departure on this earth with his last years of memory loss and illness, you never can prepare for the vacuum it creates. I will miss you Dad but know you’re in a wonderful place.