Walter Gilbert Fremont III

Gil, the youngest of three children, was born to Walter Gilbert Fremont Junior and Gertrude Fremont on the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. There he would later become a beloved teacher and soccer coach. In 2022, after 35 years of teaching and coaching, he retired from BJU when his illness made teaching impossible.

A man of many talents, Gil was a gifted educator, teaching middle school Bible and American History as well as coaching soccer for more than three decades. As a skilled writer and musician, he published several articles and books and composed many songs for the guitar. He was a licensed contractor building two of his own homesteads and several other homes. Gil loved woodworking and created custom furniture for his children and grandchildren.

His favorite activities included riding horses and target practicing with both bow and arrows and guns. As a child, he taught himself to ride the unicycle. He also spent hours of his youth practicing soccer drills and using his athletic skills and passion for Jesus. After his diagnosis in 2014, Gil fought the decline from Parkinson’s every step of the way by continuing in those activities he had always enjoyed. Back surgery in 2023 accelerated his Parkinson’s symptoms and dementia. But he never gave up battling the digression of his disease.

Christian ministry was a priority for Gil. He spent many years serving at The Wilds camp his father co-founded. Gil began work as a counselor and then ultimately became a full-time staff member. As a Christian school teacher and coach, he found other ways to minister and show the light of Christ, including holding Bible studies in prisons and helping to mentor prisoners.

One of his greatest joys was leading soccer mission teams to Brazil and ministering to youth and communities through the beautiful game. Over the years, Gil took 13 soccer mission teams to Brazil which made a huge impact in his own life. He adored Brazil and the Brazilian people, and through him thousands of Brazilians, especially youths, heard the Gospel. He spent years studying Portuguese and loved the chance to practice the language, keeping a study book by his bed until the very end. Even in the last few weeks of his life, he was hoping and planning to start a program to send Christian English teachers to work with missionaries in Brazil. He was a humble man who often questioned if he had done enough to lead others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And yet everything he did was exactly that.

Gil adored his wife, Julie, whom he met when they were students at Bob Jones University. He frequently expressed awe at how lucky he was to have such an amazing help-mate. He was an extremely active and involved father, even in those periods of time when he was working 70 hours a week at multiple jobs. He sought out ways to connect with his daughters and include them in his work, whether that be helping him to install pools, decorating his classroom for the year, cleaning up construction sites or watching from the sidelines as he coached soccer. He taught them to ride horses, to work hard, to be faithful to Christ, and to put up with his never-ceasing dad jokes. Grandpa Gil was also beloved by his young grandchildren. He looked forward to the day when he would teach them to play soccer and ride horses, and even when he could not do those things in the end, he got a huge kick out of their baby and toddler antics. Gil dreamed of retiring one day and working on his homestead, riding horses, playing with his grandchildren, traveling with Julie, and starting the new teaching ministry in Brazil.

Gil was preceded in death by his sister, Elaine Fremont, his father, Walter Senior, and his mother, Trudy Fremont. He is survived by his wife, Julia Young Fremont; his daughters, Jessica Dawn Spriggs, Heather Fremont Douglass, Janis Whitney Neal; his sons-in-laws Dan Spriggs, Tim Douglass and Justin Neal; his sister, Gail Berger and her husband Daniel and their children; and his grandchildren, Blake Walter Neal, 9, Estrela Douglass, 6, Judah Fremont Douglass, 6, Joanna Neal, 5, Dan Spriggs Junior, 5, Colter Spriggs, 3, Lua Douglass, 1, and a granddaughter due later this year.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2026 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Woodlawn, 1 Pine Knoll Dr., Greenville, SC 29609.

The funeral service will be held on Friday, September 11, 2026 at 1:00 pm at War Memorial Chapel on the campus of Bob Jones University, 1700 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29614.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation on behalf of Gil to Living Memorials - The Wilds Christian Association https://wilds.org/donate/living-memorials/