Donald “Don” L. DeFreese
Donald “Don” L. DeFreese of Calera, Alabama passed away on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at UAB hospital with his wife, Charlotte, and his son, Travis, along with his wife Mary Jo at his bedside. He was born on December 23, 1939, to his parents, Leslie Raymond and Francis Annette Donaldson. He was the youngest of three children.
Don was preceded in death by his parents, son, Donel Leslie DeFreese; brother, William “Billy” DeFreese and sister-in-law Sondra DeFreese; brother-in-law, A.B. Grooms, nephew, Robert Grooms; granddaughter, Elizabeth Ann Davis; and special friends, Bobby Sherer, Lloyd Netherton, and Vance McVay.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Charlotte Lee Young DeFreese of Calera, AL; sons, Travis and his wife Mary Jo of Vestavia, AL, Gavin and his wife Thanainun of Phoenix, AZ; daughter, Ann DeFreese Davis and her husband Bill of Calera, AL, grandchildren, William DeFreese of Atlanta, GA, Andrew DeFreese a Senior at Auburn University and Olivia Davis of Auburn, AL; and a special family member and mother of our children Almarie Tyson of Calera, AL.
Also surviving is his sister, Pat Grooms of San Mateo, FL; nieces, Cindy Marvin and her husband Tony of Palatka, FL, Diane Batten and her husband Stan of Jefferson City, MO, Susan Poulin and her husband Steve; nephew, Danny DeFreese and his wife Pat both of Summerville, SC. There were many cousins that Don grew up with but in adult life one deceased cousin, Fred Turner of Sterlington, LA and one surviving cousin Rodney Addison of Chelsea, AL were great friends.
Don spent his early childhood in Jacksonville, FL, where his father and many relatives worked in the paper industry. His father, a millwright, moved the family to San Mateo, FL to work in a new paper mill when Don was eight years old. After attending a rural grade school, Don attended high school in Palatka where the paper mill was located. After graduation from Palatka Senior High School, he entered Auburn University as a co-op student, working at the paper mill in alternate quarters. He graduated from Auburn in late 1962 with a degree in Industrial Management from the School of Engineering.
Don spent his entire career working in the paper industry. First, as an engineer with Olin Mathieson in West Monroe, LA. Then he moved to Ashdown, AR where he served as the Industrial Relations Manager for the Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company. While there he championed many new concepts in industrial and labor relations. In 1974, his career took him to Pine Hill, AL where he served as Vice President of Human Resources for the MacMillan Bloedel Inc. operations in Alabama. These operations included pulp and paper, sawmill, plywood, particleboard, and woodlands operations. After serving MacMillan for seven years as an employee and two years as a consultant, Don started his career as a management and training consultant to the paper industry.
From 1982 until his retirement in 2017, Don consulted for over twenty-five paper industry companies. His wife, Charlotte, worked with him his entire consulting career. His clients ranged from industry giants like International Paper and Georgia Pacific to smaller specialty companies. He worked in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Scandinavia. Many of his clients became long-lasting friends.
Don was especially proud of his high school and college football officiating career. He loved fast pitch softball. Don and his team were intramural champs when he was an Auburn student. He was involved in many civic activities and was the past president of the Ashdown Rotary Club. He was a licensed Arkansas Realtor and a partner with his special friend, Jasper Stover, in the Millwood Realty Company. Don was an avid deer and turkey hunter with his kids. Later he took up fly fishing and fished in Key West, Alaska, Mexico, Colorado, and many other places in between.
One of his greatest joys was raising his four children with his wife, Charlotte, and watching them grow into responsible adults. He was also proud of his grandchildren and their scholastic achievements at Auburn. He enjoyed his high school class reunions in Palatka. He loved all things Auburn, SEC football, and Braves baseball.
Celebration of Life service for Don will be announced and held at a later date. His children and others will officiate. His ashes will be interred in San Mateo, FL cemetery. The family requests that expressions of sympathy be made to The National Multiple Sclerosis Society:
https://donate.nationalmssociety.org/campaigns/Don-DeFreese-Memorial-Fund
The family will be notified of donations made in his memory. The family welcomes calls, cards, and other expressions of sympathy to individual family members.