Dr. Maris Freiman

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 was commissioned a Captain in the United States Army. Always proud of his service, he frequently was quoted as saying how proud he was to have come to America from a foreign country and then was able to serve in the United Stated military as a way of returning the blessing of the freedom he was able to enjoy. He was a member of the First Lutheran Church of Hayward, Acacia-Itasca Masonic Lodge 329 of Superior and Superior Chapter Order of the Eastern Star. He loved fishing and golfing and was an avid fan of the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs and would cheer for the Milwaukee Brewers if they weren’t playing the Cubs.

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