David Charles Freitag passed away on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at Aurora Sheboygan Medical Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin following a lengthy hospital stay.
He was born April 8, 1952 in Fort Jackson, SC, the son of Donald and Helen (Schulze) Freitag. He graduated from Sheboygan Sough High School in 1970 and joined the military in November 1971.
Dave married Sue Van De Kreeke on May 1, 1993. He enjoyed bowling and was very passionate about softball, having played for 20 years, umpiring for 4 years, and coaching both men’s and women’s softball. He was also on the Board of Directors for the Sheboygan Softball Association from 1980-1995 and was inducted into the S.S.A Hall of Fame along with his wife, Sue in 2004. Dave worked at Kohler Co. for over 44 years in the Information Technology Infrastructure area until his retirement in April of 2019 and was a member of the Kohler Quarter Century Club. He also served on the Sheboygan Public Education Foundation Board of Directors from September 2012 until the time of his death.
With reference to his military career, Dave enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves, attached to the U.S. Navy Seebees. He ultimately retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer on September 30, 2007 after serving for 30 years, including one tour of duty in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 where he was assigned as Headquarters Company Chief overseeing 125 support personnel while in country. During his military career he was recognized 25 times for 11 different awards and was recognized a number of times for 4 of those 11 awards.
In 2013 he joined V.F.W. Post 9156 in Sheboygan and was elected as Junior Vice Commander in 2014, appointed Senior Vice commander in 2015, served as Post Commander from 2016-2026 and subsequently as its Quartermaster for the past few months. He also held various positions in V.F.W. District 6—Judge Advocate (2019), Junior Vice Commander (2022) and Senior Vice Commander (2025). Dave loved to travel, especially to the island of Barbados to see his “island family” and, more recently, to Kissimmee, Florida to escape the cold Wisconsin winters. He also enjoyed watching the Packers and Brewers and, when he had time, relaxing in the back yard during the summer.
Dave is survived by his wife, Sue; son, D.J. (Jacinda); granddaughters, Josie and Janessa; grandsons, Tyler (Emily) and Jonah; sister, Debbie and her son, Chad Miesner (Kyrstin Dietz) and daughter, Nicole (Delaine) Goodell; sister, Marcia (Tom) Reinthaler and their daughter, Jeanie and son, Tommy (Katie); Sue’s siblings, Mitzi (Dale), Mike (Kathy), Netti (Scott), Kathy (Scott) and numerous nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews, and many dear friends, as well as his VFW family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Helen and Donald and his sister, Cynthia; in-laws, Antoinette and William Van De Kreeke; sister-in-law, Lenore and her husband Ray Micetich and a niece Kristin Kanzelberger.
A Memorial Service with full military honors will take place at 1:00 PM on Monday, October 19, 2026, at VFW Post 9156, 552 Evans Street in Sheboygan. Family will greet visitors at the Post on Monday from 10:00 AM until the time of the service.
In lieu of flowers, those who wish may consider making a donation to V.F.W. Post 9156 in Dave’s name.
A heartfelt thank you to the staff of Aurora Medical Center Sheboygan County for their wonderful care and compassion during Dave’s recent hospital stays. He spoke very highly of each and every one of you.
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