Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Freeze remembered for care of students
Davenport students gathered to spell "Be Kind" on the football field as part of "Kindness Week" in February. "Be Kind" was a motto of longtime principal and teacher Jill Freeze, who died late last week.
DAVENPORT - A woman who spent 33 years as a teacher and elementary school principal here died late last week. Jill Wagoner Freeze passed away from complications of myelofibrosis, a form of bone marrow cancer, Friday, April 7.
Freeze arrived at the school district in 1989 and spent 10 years teaching third graders and middle schoolers reading, writing and science. She was hired as elementary school principal in 2000 by then-superintendent Dave Iverson, where she spent the next 18 years.
She elected to return to the classroom in 2018, where she taught third grade and special education until her retirement in 2022.
Freeze was extremely active in the school aside from her teaching and principal roles, having coached cheerleading, softball, junior high volleyball, junior high track and rodeo.
She organized Booster Club Auction dinners and spent five years as athletic director in the early 2000s. She could be found keeping score at basketball games, running track meets, taking tickets at football games and traveling around the state to Gorilla playoff games.
But most of all, Freeze was remembered for her kindness and generosity to students.
"She was one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met," former superintendent Jim Kowalkowski said. "She had a saying that the elementary school was the happiest place on earth."
Husband Frosty Freeze said his wife would frequent thrift stores in Spokane, buying warm clothing and winter gear for students who didn't have those items to use on cold days.
"Like all teachers, she reached in her (own) pocket," Frosty Freeze said. "That was her go-to word, 'be kind.'"
She helped her son, Trenton Briney, a behavior specialist at the school district, and then-elementary school principal Noelle Carstens start the district's annual "Kindness Week," a week that emphasizes treating others well and with respect.
"She was really big on how you treat others and spreading kindness," Briney said.
One of her proudest achievements was being elementary principal when the school district successfully passed a bond to rebuild the elementary school in 2012.
"She was so excited that the bond passed," Kowalkowski said. "She was so excited for the kids."
Jill Freeze's legacy helped inspire Briney, head golf coach and assistant football coach in the school district, to pursue a teaching and coaching career himself. The two ended up working in adjacent offices.
"To have that opportunity to work so closely with your mom...was the joy of a lifetime," Briney said.
"Jill is a pillar of our community and school system," current superintendent Chad Prewitt said. "I think her legacy will live on forever."
In Jill Freeze's memory, the family is planning to create the Jill Freeze Kindness Scholarship, with college funds awarded to students who showcase community involvement and strong character. The family also hopes for donations to the Happy Trails Blood Drive in her name.
A public memorial service is scheduled at the same school where she gave so many years of her life.
"She gave every ounce of her being to serve the kids," Prewitt said.
The service is at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at the middle school.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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