Dr. Imogene Freer's Biography
IMOGENE JOHNS FREER
| Born: |
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September 24, 1924 – Sayre, Oklahoma |
| Deceased: |
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August 11, 2005 – Odessa, Texas |
| Married: |
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Sherman Freer – December 31, 1945 |
| Adopted: |
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Mike in 1955 in Germany, when he was 13 months old
Currently an Athletic trainer for the Astros 3A Team in Round Rock, Texas.
He and wife, Gail, live in Georgetown, Texas. They have two grown sons. |
| Retired: |
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From OC in 1982 after teaching 24 years at OC |
| Education: |
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1944 – Bachelor of Science – Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College
(Now Oklahoma State)
1952 – Oklahoma A & M – Masters Degree
1965 – Doctorate of Philosophy – from Michigan State |
| Imogene Freer took a reading course at OC in 1956 under Mrs. Duncan. Upon Mrs. Duncan’s death, Imogene, who was teaching at San Jacinto Elementary, began teaching Reading in the evenings at Odessa College. At that time the Reading Department was under the direction of the English Department. In 1958, Dr. Imogene Freer, founded the Reading Lab at Odessa College and was the chairman from 1958 to 1982. By 1965, there were 12 sections of face- to- face reading improvement classes being offered. Currently, there are 19 classes offered, which include face- to-face, Web and ITV classes. Today, the Odessa College Reading Department continues Dr. Freer’s established philosophy that reading flexibility, building vocabulary and increasing comprehension are survival skills. These courses are available to everyone who wants to further develop their reading ability. |
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Imogene’s years in education included teaching, traveling & continuing education: |
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Teaching teachers in Kentucky (3 years), Roswell New Mexico (1 year) |
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Taking courses in summers from: University of Chicago, Columbia, New York,
Colorado, Switzerland, Thailand, Japan, China, Europe, Holy Lands and Russia. |
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| She also had some classes on cruises.
In her “free” time she attended many Reading Conferences. |
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Imogene loved to travel and visited these places: |
| 1954 |
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London, Paris – first travel from New York to London on the Queen Elizabeth |
| 1955 |
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Panama, Holland, Belgium |
| 1972 |
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Russia |
| 1974 |
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Holy Land, Greece |
| 1975 |
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Europe, Seville |
| 1976 |
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Thailand |
| 1982 |
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Ireland |
| 1983 |
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Germany, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland |
| 1984 |
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Australia |
| 1988 |
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Alaska |
| 1990 |
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Canada |
| 1993 |
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China |
| 1996 |
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Nova Scotia |
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