Obituary
Helen Joy Parmer Freeman
November 1st, 1937 - August 19th, 2023
Helen Joy Parmer Freeman, 85, of Basalt, Idaho, passed away Saturday, August 19, 2023, at her home. She was under the care of Solace Hospice.
Joy was born on November 1, 1937, at her Grandma and Grandpa Hirschi’s home in Kilgore, Idaho, to Theodore A. Parmer and Helen M. Hirschi Parmer. Grandpa Hirschi was the doctor and Grandma Hirschi was the midwife.
She grew up in Kilgore and Menan, Idaho. She attended Rigby High School and Blackfoot High School. She graduated from Blackfoot High School in 1955. Joy was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On January 7, 1955, she married Paul D. Freeman in Menan, Idaho. Together, Joy and Paul lived in Basalt where they raised their six children. In 1966, she went to work at R.T. French’s and retired from Pillsbury Co. in 1995. After retirement, they loved wintering with friends and family in Yuma, Arizona, and spending their summers at the lot in Island Park. Paul passed away on April 3, 2016.
Joy loved reading, painting, crocheting, and bingo. She enjoyed a good rodeo with her family. She was a member of the Red Hat Ladies Club in Arizona. She had a great time playing Yahtzee and Scrabble with Melanie, her Visiting Angel, who came to her home this past year.
Joy is survived by her daughters: Kathy (Reynold) Morgan of Blackfoot, Idaho, Cheri (Kip) Mickelsen of Blackfoot, Idaho, Debbie (Kevin) Wilkie of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Paula (Forrest) Call of Idaho Falls, Idaho; her sons: Ted (Karrie Harper) Freeman of Basalt, Idaho, and Doug (Lynn) Freeman of Basalt, Idaho; her sisters: Dora Barrie of Rupert, Idaho, Vonda Henderson of Blackfoot, Idaho, and Polly (Earl) White of Menan, Idaho; her brothers: Jerry Parmer of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Kal (Ellen) Parmer of Layton, Utah, and Jeff (Shannon) Parmer of Iona, Idaho; her sisters-in-law: Nita Parmer of Boise, Idaho, and Linda Parmer of St. Anthony, Idaho; 45 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Ted and Helen Parmer; her husband, Paul Freeman; her granddaughter, Ashley Wilkie; and her great-granddaughter, Lydia Dunford; her brothers: Teddy Parmer, Jim Parmer, and Tad Parmer; her sisters: Gay Dawn Walker and Pennie Parmer; her brothers-in-law: Bill Barrie and Richard Henderson; and her sister-in-law; Donna Parmer.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 2, 2023, at the Basalt Cemetery, 947 Hwy. 91., Basalt. Services are under the direction of Coltrin Mortuary, 2100 First Street, Idaho Falls. Online condolences may be sent to www.coltrinmortuary.com.
