Obituary: Robertine Ann “Bobbie” Freshwater

As received from the Ryan Funeral Home: 

It is with great sadness, and some relief, that I share the passing of Bobbie Freshwater, just after midnight, Tuesday morning, August 20th. The sorrow comes from the loss of a loving mother and a community matriarch. The lightness comes from knowing that my mom has been freed from the painful burdens of advanced age. For those in the Keweenaw who knew my dad, Paul Freshwater, he of course penned a glowing obituary for my mom, left in meticulous analog and digital fashion, for me to publish upon her passing. His words sit below mine here in this piece. But first, I will take a few paragraphs to share my own reflections on the remarkable woman I got to call my mom.

For much of my life, my friends and then the greater community, designated Bobbie and Paul Freshwater, Mama and Papa Fresh. In so many ways, they were a tandem that fed off of one another’s luminous personalities. Whereas my dad could give you a very logical reason for why cultural diversity led to more solutions for complex problems, Bobbie Freshwater pushed to raise our family in one of the first racially integrated neighborhoods in America simply because “it was the right thing to do.” Mama Fresh had an internal moral compass that burned bright. Sometimes fiery, often joyous, with an infectious laugh and love of good mischief, my mom also shared a kind smile with just about every person she encountered.

Bobbie Freshwater also had a penchant for finding those teenagers who maybe didn’t fit in so well at that period of their life, maybe at school, in their family, or the community. She saw through those kids’ unruly mohawks or slacker’s gaits, was cool and calm in the presence of their attempts to maybe shock authority or try on a new persona, and above all, thoughtfully cultivated a community space where they felt welcomed, joyful, and expected to grow into great adults.

I suspect Bobbie Freshwater’s empathy came from growing up with dyslexia. This incredibly smart woman could not find in the school systems of the 1950s a pathway toward a mastery of reading and traditional academic advancement. Today, she would’ve, and maybe would have become a skilled lawyer or alternative high school teacher. In her time, she instead went to art school, where she also excelled. Her art is pretty great. My favorite piece of hers is an oil painting of General Pinochet atop a donkey, saluting our dining room table. As mom aged, she moved away from art, taught herself how to read, and devoured books on natural science, politics, and history. It was in the realm of those ideas that she was happiest. And being Irish, of course, partaking in lively debates, sometimes with rivals who, regardless of their differences, often smile at the mention of her name.

Mama Fresh passed away just after checking in with one of her favorite young people from her days as a Scout leader. She couldn’t much lift her head, but her eyes met with his on my mobile phone’s video screen, and her voice clearly projected her love and admiration for one of the many members of her flock.

A couple weeks ago, as Bobbie Freshwater’s once keen mind did battle with advancing dementia, in a moment of vivid clarity, she gave me these instructions:

Keep your fists up, and stay in the fight.

Robertine Ann “Bobbie” Freshwater of Eagle Harbor, Michigan and Avila Beach, California passed away on August 20th, 2024 in Calumet, Michigan at age 82 from natural causes following entrance into hospice. She was born Robertine Ann Nekervis in Gary, Indiana on October 21, 1941 to Robert and Genevieve (Foley) Nekervis where her father was a metallurgist with U.S. Steel and her mother was a nurse.  After a brother, the late George Foley Nekervis arrived the next year, the family moved to Columbus, Ohio where her father became a department head at Battelle Memorial Research Institute.  During her early summers, she delighted in family vacations to Michigan’s northernmost Keweenaw Peninsula where her parents grew up amidst the region’s rich copper mining culture and where many of her cousins remain today.

Following elementary school, Bobbie entered The Ohio State University School where she graduated in 1960.  Her interests while there included sports, art and stage design, and her favorite outside pastimes were horseback riding and competitive swimming at Clintonville’s Olympic Pool.  In her senior year she met her future husband and lifetime companion, Paul Freshwater, who was an architecture student at the university.   Her home was a favorite gathering place for young and older friends alike, with almost constant stimulating discussions and activities.  It was often difficult to open presents on Christmas Eve because guests didn’t want to leave!

Following high school Bobbie attended the Columbus College of Art and Design for four years where she created art in several media.  To help pay her expenses, she worked at The Ohio State University Department of Counseling and Testing helping to evaluate incoming students.  Some of her earnings were applied to begin a stunning collection of fine tableware, Wedgwood and hand-painted European porcelain that she continued to accumulate throughout her life.  

In 1964, Bobbie married Paul and accompanied him to naval assignments in Port Hueneme, California and for two years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  She loved California, and was determined to live there someday – a wish that was later fulfilled during retirement winters.  In New York City, she attended John Robert Powers School of Modeling and enjoyed many of the city’s cultural attractions.  When Paul enrolled in a graduate program at MIT, she worked for Filene’s Department Store in Boston and later on a research project at MIT.  

When Paul took a job at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati in 1968, Bobbie became active in the League of Women Voters where she became Northeastern Hills Unit chairman, and in the Women’s City Club.  After a son, Ross, was born in 1972 she helped to move the Kennedy Heights Parent-Cooperative Montessori Nursery into part of the new Woodford School, and while expanding the popular nursery became its president.  She and Paul also became active members of the Kennedy Heights Community Council in a multi-ethnic, multi economic neighborhood of 8,000, and were plaintiffs in a successful class action suit to stop steering people of different races to different Cincinnati neighborhoods.  For many years Bobbie was Hostess at her home on New Year’s Eve for dozens of her neighbors.  

And as her son grew older, Bobbie became the leader of family camping experiences in places like Ohio’s Hocking Hills and Upper Michigan’s Keweenaw, often with one or more young friends in tow.  This gave her son a good head start into Boy Scouts, but as he and his friends reached their teens it became apparent that they would lose interest unless girls got involved.  So Bobbie helped to recharter a Sea Scout Ship at Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church that quickly attracted a good balance of young women and men, which during her decade of participation earned High Adventure Explorer Post of the Year three times in the large Dan Beard Boy Scout Council, and where several members won the national Bronze Bighorn Award.  Bobbie was out in the weather with her kids almost every month of the year, whether on a summer sailing expedition, canoeing a Kentucky River, or tenting in the snow.  And one night each week she conducted a study table at her home where as many as a dozen young women and men could concentrate on their high school assignments, get help if they needed it, and eventually unwind with pizza and a game of pool.  For her efforts, Bobbie was only the second woman in the history of the large Dan Beard Boy Scout Council to be tapped to the Order of the Arrow Scouting Honorary Fraternity.  But her greatest reward through the years was to watch how so many of the young people she enjoyed, including her son, have grown into exemplary adults who now find their own ways to “pay forward” and make the world a better place.

When Paul retired in 1997, the couple moved to a vacation home they owned in Eagle Harbor on the rocky shore a few feet above Lake Superior.  Then a few years later, they built their retirement home overlooking Eagle Harbor and it’s picturesque red brick lighthouse where they volunteered as docents during summers.  That home displays Bobbie’s collections, antiques and books.  Also in retirement they bought a winter home in Avila Beach, California near Bobbie’s late parents who retired there from Ohio.  She enjoyed the beauty and friendliness of both homes, always sorry to leave and glad to arrive.

Bobbie is survived by her son Ross Foley Freshwater and his wife Melissa Leigh Gibson (both PhDs) of Milwaukee, their children Anna Lorraine Freshwater and Rory Fayne Freshwater, niece Erin DuMars Nekervis of New York City, nephew Robert James Nekervis II of Columbus and his family, and several close cousins.

A celebration of Bobbie’s life will be held during the week of the 2025 July 4th celebrations in Eagle Harbor, MI. More details to follow later. Donations in her memory may be made to the Keweenaw County Historical Society or a charity of your choice.