Dr. Maris Freiman, of Hayward, passed away February 14, 2024, at Tamarack Health Medical Center in Hayward, following a lengthy battle with esophageal and other kinds of cancer. He was born September 13, 1939, in Riga, Latvia, the son of Edvins and Lily Freimanis. At the onset of World War 2, he and his mother were able to escape the terror of the Russians by escaping to Germany. While there, his mother studied veterinary science while Maris attended school in Giesendorf. In 1949, with the help of Lutheran Social Services and sponsors in the United States, they were able to emigrate to America where he always boasted that he spent his tenth birthday crossing the English Channel and was a legal immigrant to their new home. In 1951, they relocated to Evanston, Illinois, where his mother became the first licensed female veterinarian in Illinois. He graduated from Evanston High School, Loyola University and the Loyal University School of Dentistry. He married Rita Smelte in 1961 and then w