John Edward Free passed on February 20, 2025 at home with his wife, Helen by his side.

John was born in Chicago, IL on March 28, 1934, and lived in a big house beside a lake in Barrington, IL until he was 10 years old. During those years John caught fish in the lake and became a pretty darn good baseball player.

When he was ten years old John's family moved to Malibu. Because his siblings were quite a bit older than him, John spent a lot of his childhood alone, which seemed to suit him just fine. He roamed the Malibu hills and beaches where he discovered an abandoned miniature castle and a stranded barge. Both became his private retreats.

John's favorite subject in school was History, not for the events that occurred, but for learning about and understanding the people inside those events. He took that interest with him when he joined a real estate exchange group and learned the art of listening. In his professional real estate and investment career, he understood that the property was secondary to the problem that needed solving. He learned to listen for the problem. That art of listening carried over into his personal and family life. John truly embodied the saying about two ears and one mouth. He never gave advice, but if you knew him, you knew that John would listen all day long and only if asked, would he offer his wisdom and gentle guidance.

While John was a quiet man, he also had an adventuresome side. In 1953 he left Stanford to volunteer for the draft, serving in the US Army first as a private at Fort Ord and later as a platoon sergeant at Fort Lewis. In the late 1950s, and much to his Dad's chagrin, he raced cars and then motorcycles. He didn't win a whole lot, but he sure did have fun! After he retired, John and Helen travelled the globe, gathering tales of new friendships and wild escapades.

John belonged to numerous volunteer and charitable organizations, served on various boards, and received numerous awards. But the thing John was most proud of was the family that he and Helen blended and built. They both brought their own children to their marriage, and through forty-five years of birthdays and holidays and vacations and time spent just visiting, they created a big, sprawling, supportive, encouraging, fun, sometimes messy but always loving family.

John was a pretty good southpaw pitcher, an intrepid explorer, a race car driver, a good businessman, a veteran, a gifted communicator, and Helen's very best friend. To those who knew him best,  John was kind, generous, thoughtful, and truly a gentle man.

John was predeceased by his mother, Julia Anne (Scarritt) Free, his father, James Lamb Free Sr., his sister Julia (Tony) (Free) Wenner, and his brother, James Lamb Free Jr.

He is survived by his wife, Helen (Drenner) Free, his children, Louise (Free) Canlas, Edward Free, William Free, Elizabeth (Free) Shepard, Tanya (Craddock) Opfermann and Genese (Craddock) Izuno along with ­­­eleven grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. He will be missed every single day.

The memorial service will be Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 2pm in the chapel of the Starbuck-Lind Mortuary, led by Pastor Jon McIntosh, followed by a reception in the Starbuck-Lind Mortuary event center, 138 North B Street.