John Freyer, 71, a Chicago police officer for 35 years, died of an infection after heart surgery Monday, Jan. 19, in Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Freyer came from a family of police officers and firefighters, including his father, Arthur, and brothers Richard, Kenneth and Robert, said his son John. After a stint in the Army during the Korean War, Mr. Freyer, then 22, entered the police academy. Over the next 35 years, Mr. Freyer served around the city, including the South Chicago and Englewood Districts before retiring as a Wentworth Area detective, his son said. During his time as a police officer, Mr. Freyer became a softball player for the Police League, family members said. “He was very athletic in everything he did,” said his wife, JoAnn. After retiring in the early 1990s, Mr. Freyer worked as a sergeant and watch commander at Midway Airport until June 2002. Mr. Freyer was also a longtime friend of Johnny “Red” Kerr, the Chicago Bulls’ first coach and current TV analyst. Kerr and Mr. Freyer played basketball together as teenagers and golfed in their later years. Kerr said he often came up with quotes and attributed them to “Stinky,” a childhood nickname of Mr. Freyer. “I would say, `As my old friend Stinky Freyer would say, early ripe, early rotten,'” Kerr said. “I never had a brother, but he and I were like brothers. We were family.” Besides his wife, son and brother, Robert, survivors include two other sons, James and William; a daughter, Jane Habbal; a sister, Candice Naddy; and six grandchildren. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Lawn Funeral Home, 7909 State Rd., Burbank. Mass will be said at 9:30 a.m. Friday in St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 5555 W. State Rd., Burbank.
