Mary Lou Freeman ( Hawkinson; October 21, 1941 – September 4, 2006) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

and the

Iowa State Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . E ...

Early life and career

Born in

Kandiyohi, Minnesota Kandiyohi ( ) is a city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 491 at the 2010 census. History Kandiyohi was laid out in 1869, when the railroad was extended to that point. In 1869 the Minnesota legislature voted Kan ...

, Freeman, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, was elected twice to the Iowa State Senate from the

5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

serving from 1995 to 2003, and was then elected to two terms in the Iowa State House from the 52nd district, serving from 2003 until her death in 2006.

Education

Freeman graduated from Willmar High School and later obtained her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in elementary education from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Personal life and death

Family

She married Dennis Freeman on June 10, 1962. Freeman was the daughter of J. Martin Hawkinson and Luella Hawkinson. She had 4 children and 10 grandchildren. Freeman died at her home in

Alta, Iowa Alta is a city in Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,087 at the 2020 census. History Alta was platted in 1872, and it was incorporated in 1878. By 2004, Alta contained three general stores, two drug stores, two groc ...

on September 4, 2006.

Organizations

Freeman was a member of the following organizations: * Early Childhood Intervention Council; 1994 * State Board of Health; 1986–1994 * Maternal/Child Health Advisory Council; 1988–1994 * Medical Assistance Advisory Council; 1983–1985 * St. Mark Lutheran Church, Storm Lake

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Mary Lou 1941 births Gustavus Adolphus College alumni Iowa state senators Members of the Iowa House of Representatives 2006 deaths Women state legislators in Iowa People from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians