Bill Freeman
William H. “Bill” Freeman, noted civic leader and proud Nashvillian, passed away Sunday, Nov. 17, at the age of 73.He leaves behind his beloved wife of 50 years, Barbara “Babs” Tinsley Freeman; his son, the Honorable James Robert Freeman (Rachel); his son, Cpl. William Harvey Freeman, USMC, retired (Eucaris Carlino); his son, Michael Edgar Freeman (Kimberly); and his seven grandchildren — Katie Freeman, Grace Freeman, and Will Freeman; Mikey Freeman and Hazel Freeman; and Ella Freeman and Elena Freeman. He is also survived by his sisters Beth Freeman Moore (David Moore), Barbara “Babs” Freeman-Loftis (Thomas N. Loftis Sr.), Brenda S. Freeman (Jeff Jones) and Bonnie Freeman Endsley (Tim Endsley), as well as a host of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Louis Freeman and Virginia Margaret Gannon Freeman, as well as his sister Rebecca Freeman.
A Nashvillian born and raised, Bill especially loved his hometown of Donelson, where he first met his wife Babs when they were elementary students together. He never forgot his roots in Donelson, and he supported many worthy causes in his childhood neighborhood throughout his lifetime. Bill and Babs were faithful members of Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, and they both valued and instilled a sense of personal faith in their sons and grandchildren.
Bill was the co-founder of Freeman Webb Company, one of the country’s most successful companies in the multifamily industry, owning and managing more than 18,000 apartment homes in the Southeast with nearly 600 employees. Bill founded the company in 1979 with his best friend and business partner, the late Jimmy Webb. The company has been recognized many times over by local and national organizations for its efforts in championing affordable housing and for its work in the industry as a whole. The recognition that brought Bill the greatest sense of professional pride was Freeman Webb’s award as the 2017 Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®) National Accredited Management Organization (AMO®) Firm of the Year — but the award that brought Bill the most personal satisfaction was the year-over-year recognition as one of the best companies to work for. The fact that he helped create a company that provided homes for working-class individuals and families and the fact that he built a company that was a pleasure to work for and provided stability for its employees were his greatest sources of professional accomplishment.
Bill was a quiet supporter of causes too numerous to mention. Stories will emerge for years after he has gone of his quiet actions to help people who needed help. From the largest organizations to the neediest individual, Bill never said no to a true need. Not once. As frequently as his support was given, his determination to keep it quiet was just as common. Nashville will likely never know how many causes — large and small — were preserved, enhanced, saved or championed because of Bill Freeman.
A brief list of the organizations he supported include the University of Tennessee Foundation, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, the Sexual Assault Center, Tennessee State University Athletics, the Nashville Zoo, the Reno Air Racing Association, the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum, Shelters to Shutters, the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Day 7 and One More Day on the Appalachian Trail.
Bill was a proud member of the Democratic Party, both locally and nationally. He supported the Tennessee Democratic Party for several decades and also served as its treasurer in years past. He was considered one of the most influential fundraisers for local, state and national political campaigns, frequently named Tennessee’s top fundraiser for U.S. presidential elections.
Bill’s effort to champion important causes was not overlooked by our country’s leaders. He was named to the Kennedy Center Advisory Committee on the Arts in 2016 by President Barack Obama, and he served as the national co-chair of President Obama’s Organizing for Action Advisory Board. Still serving in this role at his passing, Bill also was appointed by President Joe Biden to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2022.
Bill felt that the power of the press was an American institution and a personal freedom that should be preserved and strengthened. It was this belief that led him to found FW Publishing, the publishing arm for many independent media outlets in Middle Tennessee. It began as an effort to preserve the alt-weekly newspaper the Nashville Scene when it was at risk of closing in 2018, and the company has grown into a prime example of preserving and enhancing fair and balanced journalism and community news. FW Publishing has grown from its quiet start with the Nashville Scene to multiple cross-platform media outlets that cover the entirety of the greater Nashville area and beyond.
Bill was a man of principle. Personal beliefs and moral stances meant very much to him. He led his life with the guiding principle of the Golden Rule — doing for others what he hoped others would do for him. To Bill, right was right and wrong was wrong. He suffered no fools, but he also never met a stranger. Hearty handshakes and resounding claps on the back were commonplace.
It was that sincerity and that sense of fairness that drove Bill’s personal desire to balance the scales of life — if life didn’t play fair for a certain group of people, Bill wanted to help. Homelessness, social justice and public education were especially close to his heart. Bill had a gift for bringing together folks from all walks of life. He treated every person he knew with the same level of respect and dignity.
His desire to help others and his prowess in the business world didn’t go unnoticed by others throughout Bill’s life. He was asked to serve on multiple boards and professional organizations, and he served with distinction on each one. Just a few of his appointments include serving on the boards of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, the Nashville Public Television Council, the Tennessee State University Foundation, the University of Tennessee Alumni Board of Directors, Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Court Assistance Foundation, the Nashville Area YMCA, the Nashville Convention Center Commission, the Nashville State Community College Foundation, the Cumberland Heights Foundation, Children’s House and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam also appointed him to the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees.
Bill’s roles on boards and charitable organizations were not the only actions Bill took to serve others. He was an alumnus of the Leadership Nashville program. He was named Man of the Year by the Nashville Area Junior Chamber of Commerce and Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association. He was also a member of the Al Menah Shriners, the Royal Order of Jesters in the Nashville Court No. 92, and the Knights Templar. Bill was a member of the Belle Meade Country Club and a former member of the Cedar Creek Yacht Club and Richland Country Club. He was also a longtime Mason, having been elected twice as the Master of Corinthian Masonic Lodge, and was bestowed the highest honor in this organization in July 2023 as the 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason.
Sincerity, honesty and keeping promises were paramount to Bill’s success as a businessman, but they were even more important to him as a husband, father and grandfather. Bill’s greatest source of pride was his family. Ask anyone who knew Bill, and they’ll tell you he was so very proud of his sons and grandchildren. The example he set for his sons and daughters-in-law will undoubtedly be passed down to Bill and Babs’ beloved grandchildren, who were the greatest focus of their lives since Bill retired from his full-time role with Freeman Webb in recent years.
Everyone who knew Bill would say he was determined to accomplish a goal once he set his mind to it. He began in the real estate world at a young age, having been the youngest person to receive his GRI (Graduate, REALTOR Institute). He was also the youngest person to serve as the director of Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) under Mayor Richard Fulton.
As successful as Bill was in his professional career and philanthropic endeavors, he remained a man of the people. It drove him to run for mayor of Nashville in 2015 — not out of a desire to seek power, but from a desire to give back to the hometown he loved. It drove his hobbies and his interests — supporting his lifelong love of the outdoors, of aviation and of outdoor sportsman activities. His love of aviation led him to earn his private pilot’s license at a young age, and he was just as at-home in the skies as he was on the ground. Bill’s love for aviation included starting a Sky Diving Club while he was a student at UT. He enjoyed flying his P-51 Mustang, Su Su, and performing aerobatics with his Pitts Special airplane in air shows. He was a member of the Warbirds of America, the Seaplane Pilots Association (SPA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).
A longtime member of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Bill sponsored innumerable hunts and activities designed to encourage a love of the outdoors in future generations. He was an avid outdoorsman and took great pleasure in duck hunting with the Full Contact Duck Club in Arkansas and spending time with friends and family. He loved nothing better than long walks in the woods. Bill and Babs took great joy in taking friends and family on wagon rides with his favorite mules, Sally and Jane, at their farm in Thompson’s Station when their boys were young. For decades, he hosted many hunts on his farm for military service members through the Wounded Warrior Project. His support for veterans was unparalleled.
He was also a lifelong supporter of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, sharing with everyone that the Speedway was a true historical treasure to the stock-car racing world. Bringing NASCAR back to Nashville and seeing a stable future laid out for the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway was one of his long-held passions. He was also a stalwart supporter of law enforcement agencies, with a firm belief that police officers were the key to ensuring safe and thriving neighborhoods for all children to be raised in. He was a longtime supporter and member of The 100 Club of Nashville.
When Bill spoke at Jimmy Webb’s funeral in 2019, he commented through tears, “In the book of Micah, God gives us three requirements. Those three requirements are to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.” Bill commented then that his best friend and true brother Jimmy had done just those things in his lifetime. So has Bill. Bill acted justly, he loved mercy, and he is walking humbly with his God. May he rest in peace.
