John Chris Freese

John (Jitz) Freese, 61, of Grundy Center, Iowa, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 28, 2024, at the Grundy County Memorial Hospital, under the care of the Cedar Valley Hospice. John was born on August 10, 1963, to Clarence & Arvilla (Meyer) Freese of Wellsburg, Iowa.

John graduated from Wellsburg High School in 1982. He attended Ellsworth Community College, worked in Colorado for a time, returned to Iowa & graduated from BIT in Cedar Falls, worked for Principal Financial in Des Moines, and Life Investors Insurance in Cedar Rapids. He started working at the Grundy County Assessor’s Office on October 16, 1989. He was appointed Assessor on January 1, 2010, and retired on December 2, 2021.

John had many passions. Pheasant hunting with his faithful companion Murphy, deer hunting, fishing, gardening, working in his “meat shack”, monthly poker club, Jolly Boys, Mill St. Social Club, Fat Hogs & Cedar Falls Main Street Social Club. He was a member of the Iowa State Association of Assessors, receiving the prestigious Outstanding Member Award in 2016. He looked forward to his many fishing trips to Devils Lake, ND, be it summer or winter ice fishing.

John is survived by his sister Sherry (Stan) Caldwell of Steamboat Rock, IA, brother Mike (Cindy) Freese of Grundy Center; his nephews Eric (Becky) Caldwell, Chris (Cari) Caldwell, Jon (Staci) Freese and niece Sara Freese; great nephew Mason Thede, great nieces Rylee & Raegan Caldwell, Kiley Meyers & Samantha (Dylan) Lyman and his partner Susie Simon.

He was preceded in death by his parents, aunts & uncles.

A memorial visitation will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Abels Funeral and Cremation Service in Grundy Center, Iowa. The burial will be held privately by the family at a later date.

John will be greatly missed by his family and his many friends.

The family wants to express a heartfelt thank you to the staff of the Cedar Valley Hospice and the staff of the Grundy County Memorial Hospital for all the care that they have given John the past few weeks.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Cedar Valley Hospice or the family