John Bill Freeman

John Bill Freeman passed away peacefully on May 14, 2011 of liver failure at the, Casa Del Sol Nursing Center in Las Cruces, NM. He was born June 25,1941 in Tyler Texas, the son and only child of Edwin B. and Josephine Adkins Freeman. As next of kin, John has four surviving first cousins; Charles Adkins Finnell, also serving as power of attorney, and wife Kay of Holliday TX, and Margaret Bookout, Buzz Meredith and Richard Meridith of the North Dallas Metroplex. John was a graduate of El Paso's Burges High School and a 1963 honor graduate of Pennsylvania State University in computer science. John worked in Albuquerque NM and San Jose CA for Control Data, in St. Louis MO for McDonald Douglas, and in Las Cruces for Honeywell International, where he was recognized as "Employee of the Year". John was regarded as leading theorist in the outer space application of computer sciences for major corporations, and the federal government in the highly successful Mars Rover Mission. By his mid-twenties, John was already internationally recognized as being among the five top competitive chess champions in the world. He remained in that recognized category when he retired from chess competition. Subsequently, John achieved Lifetime Membership in the American Contract Bridge League while living in Albuquerque. Upon retirement, John continued to travel extensively throughout the world at a more relaxing pace, and always stood proudly on the 50 -yard line, right behind the legendary Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions, cheering on his alma mater at the Rose Bowl game each time Penn State competed there. A Christian graveside memorial service presided over by Chaplin Sam Faraone, will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 4:00PM at Restlawn Cemetery, 8700 Dyer St. El Paso, TX. In lieu of flowers, contributions in John's memory may be sent to the charity of your choice. Services are entrusted to Harding-Orr & McDaniel Funeral Home, 320 Montana Ave. El Paso, TX. 79902. Written Tributes of John may be sent to his family at www.FunerariaDelAngelHarding.com