William E. "Bill" Freehill

May 3, 1950 - January 14, 2022

William E. “Bill” Freehill, age 71, of Kankakee passed away Friday, January 14, 2022 at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee. He was born May 3, 1950 in Urbana, the son of Edward & Dorothy (Tyrrell) Freehill. Bill married Rosemary Kearney on September 22, 1979 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Urbana. Bill was a retired Police Officer for the City of Kankakee. He was a graduate of Melvin Sibley High School. He had attended Southern Illinois University and Parkland Community College. Bill was an avid Notre Dame, Chicago Bears, and Chicago White Sox fan. He was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served during the Vietnam Conflict. Bill was a parishioner of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Kankakee. Surviving are his wife of 41 years, Rosemary Freehill of Kankakee; one daughter, Erin & Brooks Glisson of Naperville; four sisters, Joanne & David Snyder of Laramie, WY, Carol & Roger Read of Champaign, Mary Beth & Mike Rouleau of Arlington, WA, and Jean Connell of Chicago; one brother and two sisters-in-law, Robert & Sherry Freehill of Florissant, CO and Velda Freehill of Urbana; two brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law, Patrick & Diane Kearney of Venice, FL, and Kathy & Francois Grobler of Champaign; twenty-one nieces and nephews; and twenty-five great-nieces and great-nephews. Bill is preceded in death by his parents; one sister and two brothers-in-law, Patricia & George Peabody and Michael Kearney; one brother, Richard Freehill; and mother-in-law and father-in-law, Therese & Frank Kearney. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the 11 a.m. funeral Mass on Friday, January 21, 2022 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Kankakee. Rev. John Peeters will celebrate the Mass. Interment will be held at 1:30 p.m. at Strawn Cemetery in Strawn, IL. Memorials may be made to the Illinois Special Olympics, the Joliet Diocese Catholic Charities, or the Congregation of Notre Dame Sisters. Arrangements by Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais.