- Date
- 2012-03-03
- Kind
- Death
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- deathmaritimeartscommunityfamily
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
The April 2012 Beaver Beacon remembers William “Bill” Freese, who died at his Beaver Island home on March 3, 2012, at age 79. The obituary and profile describe his St. James Boat Shop and his cherry-wood canoe and bucket work.
Evidence limits
The newspaper gives a community biography rather than a complete employment or Marine-service record.
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, April 2012, "Bill Freese" and "In Loving Memory: William T. Freese."Reports that Freese, age 79, died at his Beaver Island home on March 3, 2012, and recalls his Marine service, engineering and boatbuilding work, 1985 St. James Boat Shop, cherry-wood canoes and buckets, and planned summer open house. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2012-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held April issue scan confirms the obituary and boatbuilder profile.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2012-04_Beaver-Beacon
- A later community remembrance names William “Bill” Freese among the island characters remembered by forum participants. It adds no new date or biography beyond the Beaver Beacon record.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 15 · t015003
- A 2019 anniversary remembrance identifies William Freese as an island icon and recalls that the Burtons continued his shop and woodworking skills. The remembrance is secondary community testimony and adds context, not a new death date or independently verified biography.forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 13 · t013940
Added 6 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “William Bill Freese, Beaver Island canoe and bucket builder, dies in 2012”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-william-freese-death-2012/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, April 2012, "Bill Freese" and "In Loving Memory: William T. Freese." (and 3 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
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