Freida Bleidt Lawrence Henneberger died on February 12 at age 93 in Clemson, South Carolina, where she had moved 18 months ago from Evansville, Indiana.
She was born in Cadiz, Kentucky, the eldest of Clarence and Jettie Bleidt Lawrence’s three children, and grew up on their farm.
She loved playing the clarinet in the marching band at Trigg County High School, and still enjoyed playing the piano at 93.
Freida graduated from Murray State University with a bachelor’s degree in business. She met her husband, John A. Henneberger, soon after moving to Mount Carmel, Illinois, to teach at Mount Carmel High School in 1956. He proposed three weeks later, and they were married for 60 years, until he died in 2017.
They had three children, Melinda Bleidt, Joane Drake, and John Lawrence, who died in a motorcycle accident at age 16.
Freida also taught at Wabash Valley College, right across from her Mount Carmel home on Park Road, and sold antiques long before opening her jewelry and antique shop, Things Past.
She was a longtime 4-H leader, regent of the Mount Carmel chapter of the DAR, and an Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. This was her 50th year as a member of the PEO sisterhood.
She was a passionate member of the Evansville Philharmonic Guild even before she and John moved from Mount Carmel to Evansville in 2000. She later served as president of the Guild and never willingly missed a performance. In fact, she was often the first to arrive.
She served on the board of the Visiting Nurses Association in Evansville for more than 20 years, was president of the McCutchanville Garden Club, and was a committed volunteer for Gabriel’s Project. She loved reading biographies and enjoyed greens, cornbread, and other foods she’d grown up eating.
She is survived by her two daughters, Melinda Henneberger (Bill Turque) of Kansas City and Joane Henneberger Pickett (Wiley Pickett) of Los Angeles and Lake Keowee in South Carolina, three grandchildren, Della Lane and John Connor Turque-Henneberger, and Wiley John Pickett, and her two brothers, James Robert and Ernest Lawrence. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Anthony, and their son, John Lawrence Henneberger.
Her funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, February 17, at 11 am at Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Evansville, Indiana, with a visitation at Saint John at 10 am.
Instead of flowers, memorials should be sent to St. John the Evangelist, 5301 Daylight Drive, Evansville, IN 47725, or the Evansville Philharmonic, PO Box 84, Evansville, IN 47701.
