Robert Freeburg

Robert M. Freeburg, age 84, a resident of Bloomfield Hills, died July 31, 2013 at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac. He was born June 30, 1929 in Elgin, IL to the late George and Martha Freeburg. Beloved husband of Barbara Leslie Sherwin Freeburg; loving father of Eric Diana Freeburg and Jeffrey Colleen Freeburg; dear brother-in-law of John Sherwin; and proud grandfather of Brian, Taylor, Erica and Marina. Robert Bob Freeburg was born and raised in Elgin, Illinois and is a 1951 graduate of Northwestern University where he attended on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corp. NROTC scholarship. Upon graduation he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy Supply Corp. He then served three 3 years of shipboard duty during the Korean Conflict. He served one year in Japan on a supply ship and was assigned to a high speed minesweeper in the Atlantic. While on the minesweeper Bob went to the Caribbean twice and also spent six 6 months in the Mediterranean. After his service in the Navy, he returned to the Chicago area working as a salesman for the Ladish Co. of Cudahy, Wisconsin. Bob married Leslie Sherwin in 1958 and moved to Detroit in 1961 to work for Huntoon Equipment Co., which provided material handling equipment to South Eastern Michigan. He became president of Huntoon Equipment Co. in 1978 and continued as such until retiring in 1998. Bob also served as a board member of the Material Handling Equipment Dealers Association. Bob and Leslie's two 2 sons, Eric and Jeff, are both graduates of the University of Michigan as are their wives. Two 2 of Bob and Leslie's grandchildren, Brian and Taylor, are also currently attending the University of Michigan and Erica and Marina are in high school here in Bloomfield Hills. Bob and Leslie lived in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills for 27 years, then moved to Loon Lake in Waterford for 20 years, and recently moved back to The Heathers in Bloomfield Hills. A memorial service will be held on Monday, August 12, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 1589 W. Maple Road, Birmingham. In lieu of flowers family suggests memorial tributes to:"Michael J. Fox Foundation" to support research and education in the fight against Parkinson's. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777, or Michael J. Fox Foundation Donation Web Page. Arrangements by Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, 248-541-7000. Share your memories at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com