TED FREEMAN FACTS

FACTS

TED FREEMAN

ASTRONAUT

Theodore Cordy Freeman,, Ted as he was known around here, was a graduate of Lewes

High School, class of 1948.

Ted was born 18 February 1930, in Haverford, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. His

father was John T. Freeman, a native of New Jersey. Born 20 March 1904. Johns father

was George Freeman, 1870 – 1946 of New Jersey. John T Freeman, Teds father, though born

in New Jersey is reported to have been a resident of Sussex county Delaware , district 10, in 1910 and in 1920 was a resident of Rehoboth Beach area.

John T. Freemans mother was Catherine Sarah Van Orden, born December 31, 1867 in New

Jersey , twice married, first 22 May 1889 in Passaic to Hiram Demouth, had two daughters ,

Bessie and Mary, second marriage to Freeman, 16 December 1892, in Newfoundland,

Passaic New Jersey, had three son and two daughters.

About 1925 John T. Freeman married Catherine Thomas Wilson, of Lewes, was born

16 June 1906 to Thomas C and Ara C Mustard. Wilson. They had children, Betty, 1925 -

1998, John, Jr., 1927 - 1984, Ted, and another daughter which remains private.

John T Freeman, Teds father died December 6, 1974 in Lewes and buried in Henlopen

Memorial Park on Broadkill River.

Catherine Thomas Wilson Freeman died 16 April 1999 in Indiana and is buried in

Jeffersonville, Clark county, Indiana.

Back to Ted. During WW II Ted worked at the Reboboth airport and earned his flying

license at age 16.

After High School Ted attended the University of Delaware until he was accepted to the

Naval Academy. After graduation at the academy he was commissioned an officer in the Air

Force assigned to Aerospace Research as a pilot, Edwards AFB, California. Where he was a

flight test aeronautical engineer, experimental flight instructor, and continued to fly . With

his 3000 hours of flying he asked for astronaut training that included a wide battery of

physical, intellectual , physiological test. After passing testing he was accepted as an

astronaut. Training followed, two to five year required to make a space flight.

Waiting for his turn to fly into space Freeman was stationed at Ellington AFB , Houston,

Texas. On October 31, 1964 after a routine flight , returning to base, on landing, a snow

goose hit the canopy, shattering it into pieces which were drawn into the engines which quit

Freeman, over a populated area tried to keep his craft up and level to avoid a crash there,

allowed the plane to be too low for ejection and when he did eject, his chute did not open

and he was killed upon impact, the first astronaut to die.

Ted was married to Faith Dudly Clark of Orange , Connecticut, born 1933 died 1985 in Texas,

has daughter, Faith.