Robert Lee (Buddy) Freeman, 88, of Daniels, WV passed away Friday, July 24, 2026 surrounded by family and friends at the Raleigh Center of Daniels.

Buddy was born July 15, 1938 in Montgomery County, Virginia, the son of the late Mary Alice Pearman Ward and Henry French Ward. As a member of the Ward family, Buddy was always surrounded by loving, joyful and hard-working brothers, sisters and extended family.

Buddy is survived by his wife, Georgia Roberts Freeman, his daughter Deena (Ely Jean / EJ) Salon, his granddaughters Sofia, Maria and Elysia Salon, all of Daniels, WV, his sister Patty Sue (Dave, deceased) Ward Yeager of White Oak, WV, and his brothers Kenneth (Trudy) Ward of Summerfield, FL and Jack Tom (Betty) Ward of Columbia, SC., his sisters-in-law Patricia Roberts of Daniels, WV and Marilyn (Jim, deceased) Weaver of Harrisburg, PA and many wonderful nieces and nephews. Buddy is preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Ruth Freeman of Beaver, WV, Juanita Freeman Hoosier of Chelsea, MI and Marie Davenport of Bristol VA.

Buddy was a gentle, giving, talented man who valued family and friendships above everything else. He enjoyed the simple joys in life such as morning coffee with a friend, hunting in the beautiful West Virginia mountains, back road motorcycle rides with his favorite people, mowing grass for anyone who needed it done, and laughing with the racing crew in the pits of Raleigh Motor Speedway. He valued his marriage of 67 years with his loving and caring wife, Georgia, and treasured time with all his girls – his daughter Deena and granddaughters Sofia, Maria and Elysia. He was the best Daddy and Pop-Pop, who frequently babysat and toted the girls to and from school and volleyball practices, always spoiling them with special treats.

A 1956 graduate of Shady Spring High School, Buddy was a skilled carpenter who worked with and for the Ward family before establishing Freeman Construction. He was owner and operator of Freeman Construction for most of his working life, employing and training many carpenters in Raleigh County. His longest tenured employee, Wayne Keller, remained a friend throughout Buddy’s life. One of Buddy’s proud accomplishments was coming out of retirement to build his daughter’s home. He took great pride in laying each piece of hard wood flooring and got such joy seeing his young granddaughters’ reactions during the many phases of house construction. A favorite memory of his daughter’s during this time was when together they spontaneously painted the new kitchen with a creative application dad had never used before. Deena had never seen him laugh so much as he did during this chaotic project.

Buddy stayed busy and ‘kept the roads hot’ with his many hobbies and visits to catch up with friends and family. He was an active member of the Gold Wing Riders Association and the Tuesday Night Riders. He served as President of the Whitetail Hunting Club and was a frequent morning visitor at our local Hardees and McDonalds.

Buddy loved dirt track racing, sponsoring and building cars for more than 25 years. He consistently raced #42 and #70 at Beckley Motor Speedway with occasional entries into races on other West Virginia and Virginia tracks. He was blessed with his relationships with his drivers who were some of his best friends. Dickie Bartusiak, Richard Lafferty, Chick Hughes, JD Hicks and Frank Prince were some of the drivers that made everything pure fun for Buddy.

In Buddy’s later years he especially enjoyed time and conversation with his faithful friends Doug (deceased) and Janice Richmond, Doug Grindstaff and Mike and Terri Justice. He was blessed with many wonderful and thoughtful neighbors who treated him like a brother or a father.

The family wishes to acknowledge The Raleigh Center of Daniels for their exceptional care of Buddy during his final weeks of life. Each and every staff member took time to get to know Buddy and not only provided quality health care, but just as importantly treated him like family - showing him love, giving him special attention and making his time there fun and interactive. The family would also like to thank the many nurses, home health therapists, and physicians that cared for dad over the years, most recently at Raleigh General Hospital and Pine Lodge, prior to his stay at The Raleigh Nursing Center. We are grateful for our Mabscott Access Health family with special thanks to Jennifer Christiansen, Pandie Mullens, Rebecca Ratliff, and his favorite son-in-law, Dr. EJ Salon. We are very appreciative of Hospice of Southern WV who continue to be a wonderful comfort to all members of our family.

Graveside Rites and Burial will be held at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens at Prosperity, WV on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 3:00 p.m., with Pastor Luke Richmond officiating. Pallbearers will be Mike Justice, Brian Justice, Doug Grindstaff, Wayne Keller, Ely Jean (EJ) Salon and Ely Jose (Jay) Salon. 

 A Celebration of Life will be held at the School of Harmony Shady Spring Senior Center Cafeteria on Sunday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m. Please contact deenasalon1@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Salon Family Scholarship Fund of Beckley Area Foundation, 1210 S. Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801 or the Delaney Wykle Animal Wellness Fund via Rachel Cornett, 223 Sailboat Lane, Ghent, WV 25843.

Private online condolences and other expressions of sympathy may be directed to the family via our guestbook at www.roseandquesenberry.net.

Arrangements are by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, 1901 South Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV.