Obituary of Freda Ann Scott

Freda Ann Scott Freda was born to Steffy (Banasieska) and Ludwig Wroblewski in St. Peter, Minnesota on July 5th, 1915. The Wroblewskis were immigrants from Poland. It is believed that Ludwig died before Freda was born, and then Steffy shortly thereafter, both victims of influenza. They may have had a second daughter, but her name and fate is unknown. Freda spent her earliest years in an orphanage. She was first adopted by the Roberts family in 1923. On their farm in Judson, Minnesota, Freda learned to ride horses. But due to severe economic distress, the Roberts family was unable to keep Freda and she had to go back to the orphanage. In 1926, based on the brief description of a “nice, smiling little girl she should adopt,” Ernestine Fischer adopted Freda from the Rochester orphanage at age 11. Freda was put on a bus and met by Mrs. Fischer in Rochester, Minnesota. Mrs. Fischer was an older widow at that time, and she died about six years later. Freda inherited Mrs. Fischer’s apartment building in Rochester. After graduating from high school, she took a course in home sewing in 1935. And in 1936 she obtained a certificate in business management from the Chicago National Extension. During her 20’s, she was an avid piano player. She amassed a large collection of piano music. Mostly they were songs that were popular at that time, though she also included works of the great classical composers. Whenever she had a permanent residence of her own, there was always a piano present so she could play. Freda took a job as a secretary at the Peoples Natural Gas Company of Rochester, Minnesota, where she worked from 1936 to 1943. In 1943, she enlisted in the US Army to serve her country during World War II. She was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (WACs). She received her basic training at Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School, and received additional training at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Freda was a member of the first group of WACs to land in Europe. She left New York March 21, 1944 on board the Queen Mary, and arrived in Scotland on March 28. Her time in Europe during the war was spent initially in London, and then later in Versailles and Paris. She received numerous medals and accolades for her outstanding service. Due to her excellent secretarial skills, she was assigned to directly support Major General Robert Littlejohn, Chief Quartermaster for the European Theatre of Operations. Although she had no problems being one of the few female members of the army, it did create some interesting situations. She recalled being the only woman on a military train traveling through Europe. When she needed to use a restroom, they stopped the train and had all of the other passengers (presumably all GIs) get off on one side of the train, and she alone disembarked on the other side of the train to take care of her personal business. Freda was stationed in London and other parts of Europe while the Germans were launching V1 rockets (which she referred to as buzz-bombs) into the cities. The first night she was in London, she was unable to sleep, too afraid of the imminent dangers. However, after the next day, she quickly accepted that where the bombs landed was beyond anyone’s control, and just performed her duties diligently. The trait of carrying on with her tasks and duties regardless of what’s going on beyond your control is one she carried on with for the rest of her life. She remembered one day leaving her apartment window open and when she returned home in the evening leaves had been blown in by a bomb going off in Hyde Park across the street from her. She was awarded the British Empire medal for meritorious service in the public relations division in 1945, and the Croix De Guerre—a bronze star from the French government—for her aid during the liberation of France. She met her first husband, Dale Thomas Whitley, while stationed in Europe. He was from Benkelman, Nebraska. Dale was also in the quartermasters group, and she outranked him when they met. They wed in Paris April 18, 1946 and honeymooned in Switzerland. When they returned to the US, they drove from New York across the country, settling in the Pacific Northwest. Dale ran a military surplus store before moving on to wholesaling jobs while Freda raised their four children. They had a house built in SE Portland right next to Creston Park and a grade school, an ideal location for raising their family. After separating from Dale in the early 1960s, Freda took care of the house and yard and raised all four children virtually by herself. Freda learned to bowl while living in Rochester. She became an avid bowler in the 1950s and early ‘60s. She won many trophies and badges, and was league champion at the Powell Lanes bowling alley two years in a row. She always enjoyed swimming. She kept a family membership at the local YMCA while her children were young, ensuring that each of them also learned how to swim. She made sure to maintain a ping pong table in the household basement, which doubled as a birthday party table, and was used for numerous crafts and sewing projects. Yet she ensured it was cleared off often enough that each of her children learned how to play the game. She regularly attended Laurelwood United Methodist church during the ‘60s through the ‘80s. She served as the church secretary for 11 years, starting in 1969. That was also the year she and Dale were formally divorced. Many of her friends during that time were from the church, and that is where she met Virgil Scott. Virgil and Freda began spending time together after Winifred, Virgil’s wife of many years, died in 1975. They married on May 17, 1983. As active member s of Geological Society of the Oregon Country, they regularly took trips throughout the state, visiting interesting locations and learning about landscapes and geologies. They took many hikes together and stayed in numerous out-of-the-way locations. Virgil was from Joseph, Oregon, and they visited his earlier home and school a few times. It was a wonderful marriage; they fit a lifetime of experiences in their years together. At the age of 93, Virgil passed away in January of 1998. Freda spent the next seven years tending the large yard and seven-gabled house she had shared with him. In 2005, she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, April and Sam Avery, in their house in Gresham. She continued doing whatever yard work she could, tending the plants and weeding the flower beds until her last year or so. She had always been a gardener at heart, maintaining rose bushes and keeping the lawn tidy and mowed. Visiting her usually involved a tour of her garden to see what was currently in bloom, or being moved about. She also enjoyed finding interesting plants in other yards and landscapes and bringing samples of them home to add to her own. The secretarial habits and skills Freda honed in high school and her early work years always stayed with her. She maintained organized folders, picture albums, and collections of items from her long life to the end. She died peacefully while asleep in her recliner on January 8th, 2014. Freda is survived by her four children and their spouses: April and Sam, Craig and Kathy, Candace and Steve, and Mark and Andrea. She is also survived by her seven grand-children: Nicole, Veronica, Brandon, Kristina, Marisa, Daniel, and Aaron. She is, and will be, missed by all who knew her, even though we all know she had a long and fulfilling life. She never gave up on the values that were dear to her, and she always loved and cared about her family and friends. We’re all happy that she achieved so much. Service Information