Gary Allen Freeman, 81, of Carthage

Gary Allen Freeman, 81, of Carthage, Illinois, died at 12:55 p.m. Wednesday, December
10, 2025, with his family by his side at Wesley Village, Macomb, Illinois.
Gary was born on June 23, 1944, in Burnside, Illinois, the son of Charles Ralph and
Thelma Lake (Vass) Freeman. Gary married Sherlie Jean Lowe on December 27,
1964, in Carthage. Gary is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jean of Carthage; two
daughters, Stephanie (Rusty) Willey of Carthage and Tricia (Mark) Thomas of
Galesburg, Illinois; four grandchildren, Bethany (Dan) Scheetz, Alyssa (Ethan)
Summers, Andrew Thomas, and Luke Thomas; and four great grandsons, Asher, Hollis,
Kampbell, and Henry; three brothers, Donald Freeman of Wesley Village, Macomb,
Illinois, Mikel (Dianne) Freeman of Chillicothe, Illinois, and Dennis (Cindy) Freeman of
Keokuk, Iowa; and one sister, Diane (Ed) O’Neil of Clinton, Iowa. Along with his
parents, Gary was preceded in death by one son, Gregory Allen on November 2, 1968;
three brothers, James, Ronnie, Charles Ralph, Jr.; and five sisters, Delores Phillips,
Katherine Martens, Janet Campbell, Carol Freeman, and Crystal Withers.
Gary worked at Cargill in Carthage for 21 years, prior to setting out on a 20-year
trucking career. He drove OTR for several years with Sharkey Transportation before
starting his own company G&J Trucking, retiring in 2006. Gary was a longtime
volunteer and former treasurer and secretary at the Carthage Clipper Fire Department.
He enjoyed many family trips camping to Alley Springs, Missouri along the Jacks Fork
River and to Seven Ponds Campground in Burlington, Iowa. After retirement, Gary and
Jean began travelling including many trips to Branson, Missouri and two family trips to
Orange Beach, Alabama. Their travels took them on a special trip to Washington, DC
with Jean’s brother, Sam (Nina) Lowe. Throughout his life, family always came first.
Gary always enjoyed his Saturday mornings drinking coffee and telling stories with
special friends around his kitchen table. He spent many hours volunteering at the fire
department for their pancake fundraisers, mountain oyster feeds and playing cribbage.
Visitation will be 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday, December 15, 2025, at Printy
Funeral Home, Carthage, Illinois. Funeral services will follow at 11:30 a.m. at the
funeral home. Burial will be at Moss Ridge Cemetery, Carthage. Arrangements have
been entrusted to Watson Thomas Funeral Home, Galesburg and Printy Funeral Home,
Carthage. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Carthage Clipper Volunteer
Fire Department or Hancock County Volunteers for Diabetes. Online expressions of
sympathy may be sent to the family at www.watsonthomas.com.