Articles tagged with: FKen Freedman
Alaska Pride Conference 2011: Welcome by Doug Frank
Doug Frank was a cofounder of the Alaska Pride Conference, first held in 1994, and is well-known for his decades of service to Alaska’s LGBTQA community. Doug provided Bent Alaska with a copy of the remarks with which he welcomed us to Alaska Pride Conference 2011, held this past Saturday at Alaska Pacific University. Thank you, Doug!
Memorial & Open House for FKen – Aug 5th
Some people did not hear about the initial memorial service for FKen Freedman held soon after his passing, so we’re having a second memorial celebration of his life to coincide with the sale of his home and belongings. Friends and community members are invited to an Open House Remembrance Ceremony and Private Estate Sale on August 5, beginning at 5 p.m.
5-6 PM Hors d’ oevres: Hearty hors d’ oeuvres & open house. Catered by his favorite restaurant – Thai House!
6-7 PM Remembrance Ceremony: FKen’s Celebration of Life was at the U/U Fellowship Hall on May 6th and was hurriedly organized to accommodate FKen’s family from out of state. This is an opportunity for those who were not able to make the original service to collectively gather and share their memories. Those who were at the first service are again invited to this more informal event.
This will be a time to share stories and memories of a remarkable man who is a long-time friend and community organizer. His home, where this event is taking place, is the birthplace of the NorthView and the Identity Helpline. We hope you will join us for an evening with our community, as FKen liked to say, “our tribe” in this very special place.
7-8 PM Private Estate Sale for friends and community members: FKen’s house will be on the market for sale in the next two weeks. Most of FKen’s belongings are in place. This is an opportunity to purchase items from the estate sale before they are offered to the public on Friday and Saturday August 6 & 7th. The proceeds will go to continue FKen’s support of his mother.
Please RSVP for the location and directions.
Coronation, 2nd Celebration for F. Ken, Leaders & Cleaners
Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska
Coronation 38, Labor Day weekend
Alaska Coronation 38 — “Kickin’ it old School…Back to our Roots” Labor Day weekend in Anchorage, Sept. 2-6, 2010! Call the Sheraton for reservations (907) 276-8700, mention ‘ICOAA’ for the special rate. Visit Imperial Court of All Alaska for updates throughout the summer.
2nd Celebration of Life in August for F Ken Freedman
F. Ken Freedman, a long-time member of the Anchorage LGBT community, a licensed professional counselor, Queer Activist and loving presence in the world, passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2010. Many calls and e-mails came in after the Celebration of Life was held on May 6th saying “But I did not know”, “Can we have a second service?” We decided to do so. Please send your name to Victoria if you would like to be kept in the loop about this service. His brother, who was very close to F Ken, spoke to him daily on the phone would love to meet all of F Ken’s Alaskan family. They are planning a second Celebration of Life in August 2010 to allow the greater community to mourn with them. More details to follow as they are planned. Please sign his guest book and share your memories with F Ken’s family of origin and family of choice.
Judge Lack wins Harvard fellowship
Judge Jonathon Lack, appointed in 2007, serves as the Superior Court Master and District Court Magistrate in the Alaska Court System, and he is one of ten LGBT leaders to win a Harvard fellowship this summer from The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute. Congratulations!
New leader for the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance
Jessi Angelette, president of the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance and the student spokesperson for the effort to add gays to the UA non-discrimination policy, is moving out of state this summer. Lauren Tibbitts-Travis, current pres. of the GSA at Juneau Douglas High School, is graduating and moving to UAF where she will be their new GSA president and will continue working for the UA policy change. The Regents agreed to deal with it this year, their next meeting is June 3-4 in Anchorage, and Lauren will speak at the meeting. Thanks, Lauren! Congratulations to Jessi on the pregnancy, and good luck in your next state!
PFLAG thanks Mary Parker
The Anchorage PFLAG Board of Directors has accepted, with gratitude and thanks, the resignation of Board member Mary Parker. Mary has been a board member for the past 14 years, among many other things she has been our primary contact person with all aspects of Anchorage youth and UAA during that entire time. She plans to continue her work as a point of contact for both youth and UAA, but she wants to eliminate Board meetings from her busy schedule. The Board thanks Mary for her many years of valuable service and we hope her future schedule has a little more flexibility. Thank you very much for your time and efforts Mary, your wisdom will be missed!
Thanks to the Fabulous Nine
A great big Thank You to the Fabulous 9 people who showed up at 10 a.m. on Saturday and worked so hard to clean the highway for PFLAG Juneau. There were 4 men and 5 women who worked really hard! We collected 12-15 bags of garbage and quite a bit of recyclables. The sunshine was glorious, the lake was beautiful, and we got several waves and gratitude honks from passers by. That was community service you can see and feel good about, SEAGLA and PFLAG working together on improving the community in which we all live… Thanks!
Memorial Tonight for FKen Freedman
A Celebration of Life for FKen Freedman will be held tonight, May 6, at 7 p.m. at the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain Street. Freedman’s obituary appeared in the Anchorage Daily News today (posted below), along with a new legacy book with the correct spelling of his last name. Personal memories of Freedman can also be read in and below Bent’s first announcement of his passing.
FKen Freedman died of natural causes at his home in Anchorage on April 30, 2010. He was 68.
He was born July 12, 1941, in Newport News, Va., and grew up in California.
He was deeply spiritual and connected with his Jewish culture through the richness of ritual and the way he lived his life — as a man of action. He connected with his Gay culture through action as one of the pillars of the GLBTA movement.
FKen was an activist in every community he was a part of. His passions were GLBTA equality, photography, theater and psychotherapy. He was a grassroots community organizer, starting and implementing the first Gay and Lesbian Helpline and The NorthView out of his home.
He loved the simplicity of life, to be in nature, and to create positive changes in his circle of influence and spend time with his friends and family. He loved plain doughnuts and he never passed up the chance to eat rainbow sprinkles on his ice cream.
FKen was in private practice, specializing in individual and couples counseling. He had a Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University, School of Drama (1967) and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, from Prescott College, Arizona (1998). He was a member of the Alaska Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association. Clients may call 229-9205 for referral information.
He was preceded in death by his husband, John Paul; his loving sister, Joan Carol; and his father, Donald Kenneth.
He is survived by his family of origin and family of choice. It would soothe his soul to know his friends shared their stories with his brother, adopted sons and extended family who were never able to experience the richness of his life in Anchorage while he was alive.
A celebration of life will be held at 7 p.m. today [Thursday, May 6] at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain St. A community potluck will follow.
Donations in his honor can be made to Identity Inc. at www.identityinc.org or P.O. Box 200070, Anchorage, 99520.
F. Ken Freedman (1942-2010)
UPDATE: A Celebration of Life will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday May 6 at the Anchorage UU Church, 3201 Turnagain St. Read and sign the ADN legacy book HERE.
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F. Ken Freedman, a long-time member of the Anchorage LGBT community, passed away on Saturday, May 1, 2010.
“It is with great sadness that I let the community know about the passing yesterday of my good friend, F. Ken Freedman,” wrote Alaska Mike on Bent’s Facebook wall.
“F. Ken worked for a number of years in the psychotherapy field, specializing in folks dealing with coming out and other LGBT related issues.”
“We just had lunch on campus in late February, it’s hard to believe he is gone! He will be greatly missed by me, as well as many others who were lucky enough to know him and consider him a friend.”
Several friends left comments about Freedman’s kind and gentle manner, that he was an inspiration and a mentor, and that he was one of the first gay men they met when moving to Anchorage years ago.
“fKen started the GLBT Helpline,” wrote Phyllis of Identity, Inc. “It was answered by volunteers from his home. His legacy will live on in so many, many ways and lives.”
Others remembered Freedman’s stories of being present at the 1969 Stonewall Riots in NYC, which mark the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement.
His full name was Fredrick Kenneth Freedman, but he never used his first name, preferring F. Ken or fKen.
A service is being planned for this Thursday afternoon/evening. More details to come as they are available. Anyone with photos of Freedman are asked to share them for his Celebration of Life. Please email the photos to Victoria.
Condolences to his family and friends.
