State Representative Mary Lou Freeman, age 64, died unexpectedly at her home near Alta, Iowa on Monday, September 4, 2006.

Funeral services and a celebration of Mary Lou’s life will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 9, 2006 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alta, with Pastor Duane Olson officiating. Burial will be at a later date. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa is in charge of the arrangements.

Friends may call anytime after 12:00 noon on Friday, September 8, 2006 at Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, where family will be present from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Mary Louise Hawkinson was born October 21, 1941 in Kandiyohi, Minnesota to James Martin and Anna Luella Sophia (Backlund) Hawkinson. She had one older brother, James Marvin, whom she looked up to and adored.

Mary Lou spent an idyllic childhood in Kandiyohi with her family and friends Barb, Nancy, Pat and Sonja. She was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran Church where she was baptized and confirmed in the Lord’s faith. She played organ for Sunday services through her college years, faithfully going home every weekend to play the old Swedish hymns that she so loved. Mary Lou attended Wittier Elementary in Kandiyohi and graduated high school in Willmar, Minnesota in 1959. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and graduated in 1963 with a degree in Elementary Education.

Mary Lou was the mother of four children. She was a loving, caring mother who taught her children to be strong and level-headed, positive, generous, faithful and loving. She was very proud of her family and they were the most important part of her life. Her children, their spouses and grandchildren brought her great joy and she treasured their visits and calls. Her favorite gifts were handmade by her grandchildren.

Mary Lou spent her early adult years as a homemaker. The meals she prepared were always wonderful and made with loving hands. She could fix about any household problem, and she could make something old look beautiful again. Her home was always open to a friend and her kitchen table the setting for many heart-to-heart visits. Everyone was a friend to Mary Lou, who had a way of bringing out the very best in a person.

After her children were grown, Mary Lou touched many lives as a substitute teacher in the Storm Lake schools. She brought electricity alive as “Louie the Lightning Bug.” She continued to hear from past students and was so thrilled with their accomplishments.

In 1994, Mary Lou was elected to the Iowa Senate, a seat she held until 2002 when she ran successfully for the Iowa House, a seat she held until her death. Her career as an Iowa Legislator was a source of honor for Mary Lou and her family. The work she did to protect our natural resources was of great importance to her. She won numerous awards for the work she accomplished. Mary Lou was a quiet, positive leader, always looking out for the best way to find solutions for her state. At the time of her death, Mary Lou was Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee and served on the Commerce, Human Resources and Natural Resources Committees.

In the past year, Mary Lou has been a survivor of breast cancer. Her positive, upbeat attitude has helped her, as well as her family and friends, as she underwent surgery and treatment for this disease. She was cancer-free at her death. A 65th birthday party was being planned by her family for October, to celebrate Mary Lou’s life.

Left to cherish her memory are her son Mark and wife Chris Freeman and their children, Erin, Tara, Megan and Dawson, of Lititz, Pennsylvania; daughter Sara and husband John Rekow and their children, Emily Louise and Anna Sophia, of Chaska, Minnesota; daughter Cary and husband Todd Friedrich and their sons, Ryan and Ross, of Alta; and daughter Maret Freeman and husband Edmund Ashley and their children, Peter Martin and Helen Elizabeth, of Portland, Maine; sister-in-law Helen Hawkinson of Kandiyohi, Minnesota; her nieces and nephews: Jim and Mary Hawkinson; Marcia and Gary Holt and their children Hannah, Jacob and Rebekah; Brad and Kris Hawkinson and their children Molly, Heidi and Charlie; and Bill Hawkinson; Swedish daughter, Kristina Helders; many other family members and a host of friends.

Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, and her great-niece Jennifer Hawkinson.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established by the family.