Jacquetta Blanchett Freeman, Arts Patron, Dies
If you were a member of her generation and traveled in the same social circle she did, you might remember the many parties Jacquetta Blanchett Freeman hosted in her lovely home, the one filled with Japanese art and Oriental rugs, with the grand view of Lake Washington.
Even so, there are many things in Seattle for which Mrs. Freeman was responsible: the artwork at Seattle Center; Isamu Noguchi's "Black Sun" at Volunteer Park.
In the 1960s, Mrs. Freeman was a member of the Municipal Art Commission, and her imagination and generosity, wrote then-Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman in a thank-you letter to her, made it possible for the city to create its public-art program.
Mrs. Freeman, who died of a stroke Sunday (Jan. 11) at age 91, was the widow of Bellevue Square founder Kemper Freeman Sr. and the stepmother of Kemper Freeman Jr., who redeveloped the shopping center.
She had an appreciation for art that ran deep in her soul and inspired her to spend much of her life making this a more beautiful place to live.
Mrs. Freeman was a founding member of the Committee of 33, a group that raised money to restore artwork throughout the city. She was also a founding member of the Seattle Arts Commission.
Mrs. Freeman was born Feb. 24, 1906, in Bellgrove, Idaho. She married three times: to Robert W. Rose, a physician, in 1925, with whom she had two sons; to Frederic Blanchett, an investment banker, in 1943; and to Kemper Freeman Sr., the arts patron and developer, in 1980.
She buried both sons and was widowed twice, but always maintained a great optimism.
"I am sure that I have been luckier than most," she wrote in 1975. "When tragedy of one kind or another popped its ugly head into my life, I always played the game of Pollyanna and found a reason to be glad."
Survivors include daughters-in-law Joan Rose of Indianola, Kitsap County, and Celeste Rose of Seattle; stepson Frederic W. Blanchett of Seattle, his wife Robin and their children David, Chris and John of Seattle; her stepchildren Sarah Stelter, Kemper Freeman Jr., Clotilde McDougall and Elizabeth Freeman, all of Bellevue; grandchildren Marylee LeCocq of Bellingham, Robert W. Rose of Palo Alto, Calif., Ric Rose of Tacoma, Joni Landeen of Indianola and Celeste J. Rose of Seattle; nine step-grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A funeral Mass was held today.
Memorials can be sent to Committee of 33, c/o The Seattle Foundation, 425 Pike St., Suite 510, Seattle, WA 98101 or L'Arche USA, P.O.B. 22451, Seattle, WA 98122.