Former state lawmaker Glenn Freeman of Corbin dies at age 80

FRANKFORT — Former Eastern Kentucky state lawmaker Glenn Freeman died Saturday at his home in Corbin. He was 80.

Mr. Freeman represented the 17th Senate District, made up of Bell, Harlan and Perry counties, from 1996 to 2000. He was a member of the state House from 1970 to 1971 and 1974 to 1977. In the Senate, he was chairman of the Economic Development and Labor Committee.

In 1976, Mr. Freeman sponsored legislation to create the Coal Mine Safety Analyst Program, an effort to make Kentucky coal mines a safer place to work.

Mr. Freeman, a native of Cumberland, was a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He was in the Army from 1953 to 1955.

After college, and the death of his father, he returned home to Cumberland to help his mother run the family businesses: Tri City News, which his father started in 1927, and Tri City Motor Co.

Visitation for Mr. Freeman will be at First Pentecostal Church, 1505 South Main Street, London, from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. A memorial service at the church will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday. A graveside service will follow at Cumberland Memorial Gardens in Lily.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Glenn Freeman Scholarship Fund at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, 700 College Road, Cumberland, Ky., 40823, or to First Pentecostal Church Building Fund, 1505 South Main Street, London, Ky. 40741.

Hart Funeral Home in Corbin is in charge of arrangements.

This story was originally published June 9, 2014 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Former state lawmaker Glenn Freeman of Corbin dies at age 80."