Graveside Services celebrating her life will be held on Saturday July 31 2021 at 11:00 AM at the Coleman City Cemetery where she will be laid to rest in the Cecil Freeman family plot. Services have been entrusted to Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home.
Celia was born on May 13, 1926 in Coleman, TX to the late Cecil A. and Laura A. (Boyles) Freeman. She grew up in Coleman in a loving and close-knit family. After graduating from High School in Coleman she went on to attend Texas Technological College in Lubbock, now Texas Tech University. She married the late Dan Gent whom she met while he was stationed at the Air Base in Coleman. After marriage, the couple moved to New York to be closer to Dan’s family. A real Texas girl at heart they soon returned to Texas and eventually settled in Irving. While in Irving, she devoted herself to her family being a dedicated homemaker. Also during this time, she was involved with the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Irving. Celia possessed a fierce independent nature. After her children were older, she learned to drive and entered the workforce. She later moved to Abilene when she retired to provide a home for her mother and be near one of her children. It did not take long for her to become acclimated to Abilene and began volunteering with R.S.V.P. utilizing her bookkeeping skills. She also attended water aerobics class at the Y.M.C.A, where she had many friends and joined a line dance group for seniors. She loved to sew, read (especially westerns), work in her yard, and cook. She was also a fan of the tv series “Mountain Men”. She will be remembered for her honest and straightforward approach, devotion to family, and genuine interest in others and current events.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Charles, and Garland Freeman; and her sister, Luella Freeman Cochran.
She is survived by her children, Laura Zimpel and her husband, Harvey, Dana Heberling and her husband, Allen, and Jenny Estrada; grandchildren, Daniel Zimpel and his wife, Krista, Kari Branch and her husband Rusty, Katie Hopkins and her husband, Jared , Michael Huftile and his wife, Carey, Robert Huftile, Ethan Heberling, Caleb Estrada and his wife, Katy, and Josh Estrada and his wife, Jen; great-grandchildren, Ashley, Christopher, Travis, Kolby, Kyle, Carson, Cooper, Addison, Marshall, Nathan, Gunner, Laken, Charlie, Madelyn, Juliet, August, and Caden; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
A special thanks from the family to Visiting Angels caregivers, Kathy and Sharon.
**Services will be livestreamed, if not available at time of service please visit back later in the day to view services.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18