Bryant Freeman Obituary

University of Kansas Professor Emeritus Bryant C. Freeman died February 3, 2024 at age 92, best known as Founder and Director of its Institute of Haitian Studies. First American admitted to France's prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris) and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia, he received an M.A. and Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from Yale University while both a Woodrow Wilson and Yale University Fellow. After teaching at Yale and the University of Virginia (1955-1971), he was appointed Professor of French at the University of Kansas (1971-2007), serving as Chair of French & Italian (1971-1976).

Beginning as a teen-ager, he was an inveterate world traveler, spending time in 85 countries.

While frequently on extended leave, Dr. Freeman was in charge of screening Haitian refugees for the Dept. of Justice at the US Naval Base, Guantánamo, Cuba, and served as instructor in Haiti for United Nations/OAS observers as well as for US Peace Corps volunteers. With the protocol rank of Major-General, he was advisor for US and UN Peace-Keeping Forces in Haiti.

Among his many publications are a six-volume Haitian-English English-Haitian Dictionary and a three-volume Medicine in Haiti, including Third-World Folk Beliefs and Practices: Haitian Medical Anthropology. His Survival Creole was published also in French, Spanish, and German editions. For publication in the Haitian language, he collected and edited two volumes of some 150 Haitian folktales, as well as an 18-volume edition of the complete works of Haiti's great novelist Carrié Paultre. The US State Department entrusted him to provide the official English translation of President Aristide's resignation message.

Almost his entire adult life was enhanced by the company of Clumber Spaniels. He was a founding member of both the Charlottesville-Albemarle Kennel Club and the Clumber Spaniel Club of America, Inc., later serving as president of each. For many years he was the breed's official representative to the American Kennel Club, and authored its Clumber column. He published nine books on Clumbers, and was on the committee to rewrite the breed's Standard.

Among his numerous accolades are a Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to the Haitian People, a US Dept. of Justice Special Service Award, Kansas Humanities Council and Kansas French Educator of the Year Awards.

He is survived by his wife Stephanie Freeman of the home, and by his son Timothy Freeman and grandson Henrik Freeman, of Seattle, WA.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Lawrence Journal-World on Feb. 11, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Bryant Freeman

6 Entries

James

May 24, 2024

I used Ti Koze Kreyòl to learn Haitian Creole. I also use your dictionaries. Thank you for making your work freely available. Your generosity has been felt by many.

Daniel Brownlee (Bawon Blan)

March 31, 2024

Mwen regrèt anpil pou m tande dènye lanmò Dr Freeman (Tonton Liben). Nou te rankontre pandan jou Aristide, koudeta, ak anbago. Jenere ak tan ak materyèl li, asistan li te endispansab nan aprann fason yo ak pawòl pèp ayisyen an, yon pèp li te renmen ak respekte. Kenbe pa lage!

Jeff Bane [email protected]

February 26, 2024

Jeff Bane
Richmond Virginia
I have such fond memories of Bryant .
We were raised in Ginter Park area.
Always a fun and gentle person to be around.

Maryam

February 25, 2024

Stephanie, You were so blessed to have such a brilliant, accomplished, and supportive husband. My thoughts and sympathy are with you for the loss of your companion.

Marcia Epstein

February 18, 2024

I knew Dr. Freeman when I was a young undergraduate student who didn't know what I wanted to study at KU. I knew I loved learning languages, and had studied French through my high school years. So the culture side, rather than the grammar side, of the French Department got my attention. I probably took more than one class from Dr. Freeman. However what I remember most is his love of his orange and white Clumber Spaniels. I don't know how we ended up talking about his dogs and my orange and white English Setter. We must have ended up running into each other walking with our dogs. I know I had never seen a Clumber Spaniel before that. So, I remember Dr. Freeman for love of dogs. And for a lost undergraduate student at a large university, that connection was very meaningful, and Dr. Freeman was very memorable. I hope his loved ones continue sharing stories about him, and find some comfort in those memories.

David Nolan

February 13, 2024

Bryant (we called him "Mr. Freeman" in the UVa style...) was the faculty adviser to the Jefferson Chapter of the Virginia Council on Human Relations--the only civil rights group allowed on campus--in 1963-4. I (a lowly first year student) noticed a lack of many civil rights oriented books in the library (remember, this was the age of segregation, and several of my fellow students lived in Virginia counties where public schools had been closed to avoid integration). Bryant said that one of his privileges as a faculty member was to recommend books for purchase, so I made him up a long list, which he duly submitted. I am sure some eyes were raised as to why a French teacher was recommending Jackie Robinson's "Baseball Has Done It," but the books all came through, and thus was a small blow struck for decency in what was, in many ways, a very indecent time. Thank you, Bryant, and I send my sympathy to your family.

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