Carol was born to Myron and the late Elaine Belongea in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As such, Carol was an avid Packers fan. As a child she was involved in dance and created many fond memories with her family ‘up north”. In 1966, she met the love of her life, Arlin Freeman. They married in 1968 and had over 53 wonderful years of marriage. She was a phenomenal mother to her daughters, Leslie and Julie. She spent countless hours with her daughters, cultivating their love of the arts by running them to dance, cheerleading, piano, band, and singing lessons. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her daughters. When Leslie and Julie married Kurt and Keith, she welcomed both with open arms and she and Arlin set a perfect example of what a loving and successful marriage is. In her later years, her grandsons were the light of her life, and she was often seen cheering them on at their baseball games or baking and decorating cookies with them, which earned her the nickname, “Grandma Cookie”. When she became sick, she continued to support them by watching games on Game Changer and leaning on Arlin a bit more to help with the cookies. Carol lit up a room with her smile and instantly made friends wherever she went. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Carol is survived by her husband Arlin Freeman, her daughters Leslie (Kurt) Nurczyk and Julie (Keith) Loeffler, grandsons Kyler, Austin, and Aiden, her father Myron Belongea, her siblings Dennis (Linda) Belongea, Michael (Therese) Belongea, Jean (Jeff) Smith, Robert (Casey) Belongea, in-laws Arnold (Lynn) Freeman, Delores (Roger) Meulemans, Elaine LaLuzurne, Daniel Freeman, Mary (James) Tenor, and Carol (Scott) Zettlemoyer, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.
She is preceded in death by her mother, Elaine Belongea, father-in-law and mother-in-law John and Lucy Freeman, sister-in-law Donna Freeman, and brother-in-law Thomas LaLuzerne.
Visitation will be Friday, July 1 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Gurnee, IL from 9-11 am. A mass of Christian burial will follow at 11 am. Entombment at Warren Cemetery Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, www.themmrf.org or Bleeding Disorders Alliance Illinois, www.bdai.org.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MarshFuneralHome.com for the Freeman family.
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