David Freeman, Sr.

David Wayne Freeman, Sr. was born on December 18, 1963, in Camden, New Jersey at Our Lady of Lords Hospital, to Joyce (Simons) Freeman-Ways and the late George Freeman.

David was born and raised in Camden, and he was educated in the Camden City School System. In his early school years, he developed a passion for music and started playing the trumpet in third grade. He would sit in his bedroom playing Earth Wind and Fire’s song “Fantasy” for hours, on his trumpet, until he could finally play the entire trumpet part correctly. It drove his family crazy.

David was a man of many talents, in high school he played football, was a starting basketball player, co-captain of the best drill teams from Camden the ambassador of “Red and Black” Baby. He mastered the talent of twirling swords and commanding the boys on the line. His mother and sisters can still hear him shouting, “Attention! Ambassadors! March!”   David was a proud alumnus of Sicklerville Vocational School, majoring in Auto Mechanics.

In 1982, during David’s senior year, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. David attended boot camp at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina then stationed in Whidbey Island and Bangor in Washington State. After four years of active service, David served an additional two years in the reserve as Lance Corporal, finishing his military career as Corporal. With honor, David proudly served his country for six years. Following the military, David chose to stay in Washington working in the security field for armored service companies Brinks and Dunbar. David resided in Tukwila and began working for King County Metro in 1995. He started his career as a Transit Operator, then became a First Line Supervisor and in his later years, moved from the field to behind the scenes as a Construction Coordinator.

On April 28, 2001, David married his late wife, Mechelle McClain-Freeman. They shared a dedication to the Lord as active members of First AME Church in Seattle, Washington and together joined the church choir, where Mechelle sang and David, the musical lover he was, passionately played the congas. On September 5, 2009, David and Mechelle welcomed a miracle baby, their son David Jr. (DJ).

In 2017, David met Melanie Clark, and they became great friends which later developed into a loving relationship as life partners. They shared many memories together with DJ, Gerald, Elizabeth, Jayden, and the grandchildren (many family members). In 2022, David and Melanie made a commitment of devotion and together had dreams of moving to Texas after his retirement and purchasing a big house with land.

David was a loyal friend, dedicated employee, and a firm believer in keeping family first as a loving son, older brother, spouse, life partner and most importantly, father and grandfather. We will forever miss his humor, infectious laugh, and smile so warm, it could light up a room.

David departed this life on December 23, 2024. He is preceded in death by his wife, Mechelle McClain-Freeman; father, George Freeman; and bonus father, Howard Ways Jr.; grandparents, Frank Simons Sr., Gladys (Strickland) Simons, Leroy Freeman Sr., and Mary (Hundley) Freeman.

David leaves to cherish his memory his life partner, Melanie Clark; three children, Christopher Perry, Nadira Conyers, and David Freeman Jr.; granddaughter, Cha’Vey Conyers; mother, Joyce Freeman-Ways; brother, Jerome Trotter; sisters, Dianna and Deneen Freeman; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Special Acknowledgements

A special thank you to David’s circle of close brothers with whom he has been friends since elementary school (Parkside 4life), Charles Dreggs, Mark Fields, Raymond Brown, Darrell Still, Tony Hickman, Eric Freeman (cousin), To his Washington family, Genna Hamilton and Patty, Mikayla and Taylore Osborne and niece Asia Freeman of New Jersey, a tremendous thank you for your undoubted support with caring for David as his health began to fail. To Melanie, your faithfulness and dedication will never go unnoticed. We thank you for the tremendous sacrifices you have made to care for our dear son, brother, and father.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David Freeman, Sr., please visit our floral store.