Pilot. Equestrian. Special needs advocate. Killed in crash, Marshfield mom’s legacy great
David R. Smith, The Patriot LedgerDecember 16, 2023 at 9:45 AM
MARSHFIELD – Michelle “Shelly” Freeston[1]e came from a family right out of a Hemingway novel. Pilots and horse riders, entrepreneurs and adventurers, Rickliff Decker[2] and his wife, Josephine, welcomed Michelle, born in 1944, and Joan, her older sister by 12 years, into a world where they were encouraged to jump into the action and not be dissuaded by conventions of the time.
Michelle, Joan and their cousin Jim grew up together in Staten Island, New York, with the trio spending their time horseback riding, ice skating, flying and driving and more. Her father was a pilot, a mechanic and a race car builder and driver who competed in the Indy 500 from 1929-34. Her mother was also a pilot, an airplane mechanic and – because why not? – a hat designer.
Freestone would go on to get her pilot license, too. Kara Somerville, Freestone’s daughter from her first marriage, said it wasn’t unusual for her grandparents to load their daughters into their plane for a quick spin around the Statue of Liberty or a trip to Block Island for a lobster lunch.
Michelle Freestone with her mother, Josephine Decker, who was a skilled airplane mechanic.
According to family lore, at one point Josephine was repairing a plane but found it was too cold outside to do the work, so she did what anyone would do in that situation: She cut a hole in a wall of their house and brought the plane inside. “She was born to some pretty interesting folks,” said Somerville, who is in the equine business herself as a saddle fitter and dressage trainer. “They were real characters of the time.”
Michelle Freestone died Nov.
20 at age 79 after the car she was driving on Plain Street/Route 139 in Marshfield was hit by an armored military vehicle owned by the Marshfield Police Department. She was on her way back from Thanksgiving food shopping. Visiting hours and a funeral service were held Dec.
From New York to New Jersey to Massachusetts
When the family moved to New Jersey, Freestone and her sister rode horses and competed. But the thrill of flight didn’t lose its edge for Freestone, who completed her first solo flight at age 20 at the former Kupper/Midville Airport, now Central Jersey Airport[5], where her parents had an aviation business. She was also an avid ice skater.
A 20-year-old Michelle Freestone, who was Michelle Decker at the time, prepares for her first solo flight in 1964.
“My mom did grow up in this magical way with these wild people,” Somerville said.
Freestone finished cosmetology school and took a job at a beauty salon. She met Somerville’s father at the airport, where he worked as a pilot. The couple would eventually divorce, and Freestone would later marry Bob Freestone, owner of The Village Framer[6] in Marshfield, in 1982.
“He was the love of her life,” Kara said in the obituary she penned. She worked alongside her husband at the store. “The frame shop was an excellent forum for Shelly’s creativity and decorative vision,” Somerville said in the obituary. “She excelled both artistically and as a business partner.”
Somerville was a teenager when the two married, and Bob Freestone had two sons from a previous marriage. The couple’s first son, Evan, was born in 1983, and their second son, Bryce, was born in 1988. “The boys were her world, and she nurtured a close-knit family and home life,” her obituary said.
Freestone’s new life and special needs advocacy
The birth of her first son would change Freestone’s life in an unexpected way.
Evan, now 40, was born with special needs, and Somerville said her mother dedicated herself to being his caregiver and advocate.
Michelle Freestone with her son Evan, who is now 40.
“It was very life-changing for her,” Somerville said. “She was fiercely protective of him, and her advocacy for the special needs community really influenced the flavor of her life.” Family friend Chloe Gates met Freestone through the Magical Moon Farm and Foundation[7] in Marshfield. While primarily being a place for kids with cancer and other life-threatening conditions to relax and find support, the nonprofit also welcomes people such as Evan and the 17-year-old special needs girl cared for by Gates, a behavioral technician who works in the Marshfield Public Schools special education department.
“She was always so kind each time I met her,” Gates said of Freestone. Both Evan and the 17-year-old enjoy Magical Moon’s drum therapy program, Gates said. Evan and the girl “get along really well,” she said.
“He’s so much fun to hang out with. He loves drumming. He loves drumming to indigenous people’s music,” Gates said. “He loves going to the barn at the farm.”
She added there may be a drum just for Evan this Christmas. “I’m so excited about that,” she said. “That should make his quality of life a little bit better.”
Putting the call out to help the Freestones
While the loss has hit the entire family hard, Evan is having an especially difficult time adjusting to the loss of his mother, friend and supporter. “My heart just breaks for Evan,” Gates said. “He just asks when his mom’s coming home.
He doesn’t understand it.” Gates said Evan has also developed anxiety about people leaving him. “He’ll ask me and the girl I take care of if we’re going to come back when we leave,” she said. “I think he has trauma now with being able to expect whether people will come home or not, so it’s really sad.”
Michelle Freestone with her son Evan, who has special needs. Freestone was Evan’s primary caregiver until her death in a fatal car accident in November 2023.
Bob Freestone’s sons have been helping their dad out with caring for Evan, but given his extensive needs, Gates said they are looking for someone who could offer help with his care, even if just for a few hours here and there.
“We have not had anyone. It’s really hard to find help right now,” Gates said. For now, Gates and others continue to keep life as normal as possible by taking him to Dollar General and McDonald’s, places he loved to go with his mother.
“We’ve been trying to hang out with Evan and get him out of the house, even if it’s to take a walk, just to break up his day.” Bob Freestone has reduced the frame shop’s hours since the accident. “This all happened right in front of their business, which is devastating,” Gates said. “There are triggers everywhere for everybody.”
Gates set up a GoFundMe[8] fundraising page that has collected over £11,000 to help the family. “Like any family that goes through an unpredicted death, the funeral expenses and other expenses are extravagant,” she said.
Michelle Freestone’s death raises questions for family and friends
As Freestone’s family and friends mourn her loss while hanging tightly to their many happy memories of her, questions about her death – and the vehicle that caused it – remain. The investigation into her death continues to be investigated by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the results of which Tavares said aren’t expected in the immediate future,
The case was moved out of the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office to avoid even a perceived conflict of interest, as the office works regularly with local police departments. Tavares said initial reports suggest Freestone was taking a left on the southbound lane to get to the frame store when the officer driving the 14.5-ton vehicle hit her on its way back to the police station from the public works department yard as part of a maintenance run ahead of predicted bad weather the following day.
State Police investigate the crash involving an armored vehicle and a car Nov.
20, 2023. The accident claimed the life of Michelle Freestone, the car’s driver.
The vehicle is referred to as a Mine Resistant Ambush Protection vehicle.
The town acquired the demilitarized vehicle as part of the government’s “1033 Program,” which allows states to coordinate with the military and local law enforcement to acquire an array of surplus vehicles for rescue and tactical purposes in flood zones and provide bulletproof vehicles for active-shooter situations. The vehicle does not need to be registered with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and does not require any special licensing to drive, said Marshfield Police Chief Phil Tavares. Only two officers within the department are authorized to drive the vehicle, he said.
The first, he said, is a former master gunner sergeant in the Marines who served three tours overseas, where he drove similar vehicles. The second – the driver that day – is an officer he trained. A family in mourning: Marshfield woman, 79, killed in collision of car, armored police vehicle[9]
“This story isn’t about equipment and vehicles, it’s about a poor woman that lost her life,” Tavares said. “I feel terrible for everyone involved – the officer, the woman, her family, her friends.” Somerville and Gates each asked why such a vehicle had to be on a busy road on a weekday morning. “I was just shocked, and I think all of us are really angry about the whole thing,” Gates said.
While Somerville concedes there were likely a number of factors at play that may have contributed to the accident, there is one thing she knows, she said. “Even if my mother made a mistake and had turned in front of a Hyundai or another Subaru or any other car, she would have had a fighting chance of being alive,” she said.
‘She was the glue of the family’
Even as anger over how she died perisists, as does the grief from her death, Somerville said her mother’s life was one of changes, chances taken and exploring all sides of her personality and interests.
Michelle Freestone was a lifelong gardener and outdoor enthusiast.
The family enjoyed taking vacations and often spent time in the summer at a pond cottage in the Plymouth-Bourne area that has been in Bob Freestone’s family for years. Her ashes will be spread there in the spring or summer, Somerville said.
She said her mother worked in the cottage with the same zeal as she did at home, with gardens designed outside and the interior benefiting from her creative touches. “It’s a very nifty place,” Somerville said. “In the summer, it’s amazing.” She also collected antiques and enjoyed baking and cooking.
“She was an amazing cook and enjoyed sharing her recipes and teaching everyone in the family her best techniques,” Somerville said. “She was her own Martha Stewart in a way.” Somerville said the importance her mother placed on family celebrations and creating a welcoming home environment was likely motivated in part by the loss of her parents in early adulthood. “I think that was part of the reason she was interested in the decorating and cooking.
She wanted to create an homage to them and create a family story for everyone,” Somerville said. “She was the glue of the family.” Anyone interested in finding out more about how to help Evan can contact Chloe Gates at [email protected][10]. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Marshfield crash victim Michelle Freestone remembered as ‘so kind’[11]
References
- ^ Michelle “Shelly” Freeston (www.patriotledger.com)
- ^ Rickliff Decker (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ hit by an armored military vehicle owned by the Marshfield Police Department. (www.patriotledger.com)
- ^ Visiting hours and a funeral service were held Dec.
8.
(www.legacy.com) - ^ Central Jersey Airport (centraljerseyairport.com)
- ^ The Village Framer (www.villageframer.com)
- ^ Magical Moon Farm and Foundation (www.magicalmoon.org)
- ^ GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com)
- ^ Marshfield woman, 79, killed in collision of car, armored police vehicle (www.patriotledger.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.aol.com)
- ^ Marshfield crash victim Michelle Freestone remembered as ‘so kind’ (www.patriotledger.com)