Obituary of Bruce Freeman DR

Dr. Bruce G. Freeman, a physician known to family, friends and patients for his sharp wit and towering personality, has died. He was 66. Bruce survived lymphoma and received two stem-cell transplants, one from his brother, Rick, two years ago. He passed Tuesday night at West Virginia Universityâs Ruby Memorial Hospital following complications.His family and many of the friends he made during his nine years teaching at the university were at his side.As the chief of plastic surgery at WVUâs medical school, Bruce was known for putting students on the spot with blunt, outrageous comments that made the professorâs gentle side that much more profound.Bruce and his wife, Laura Kellison Freeman, moved to Morgantown in 2001 from Norfolk, Va., where he was an assistant professor of plastic surgery for 11 years at Eastern Virginia Medical School and a department chief at DePaul Hospital. Bruce also practiced in Roanoke, Va., from 1982-90. Bruce went to Lakewood High School and Denison University in Ohio, where he played center on the football team before attending medical school with his brother at Case Western Reserve University. Before medical school, Bruce earned a Ph.D in anatomy at the University of Tennessee in Memphis and a Master of Science in anatomy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.Donations can be made to the WVU Foundation with âComfort Fundâ in the memo or to Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia, 252 Brewer Road Morgantown, 26508 Hastings Funeral Home in Morgantown is handling arrangements. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Fukushima Auditorium at WVUâs Health Sciences Center.Bruce is preceded in death by his mother, Yolanda Dilgard Freeman of Lakewood, Ohio. He is survived by: wife Laura Freeman and mother-in-law Alice Kellison daughters Kathryn Freeman and Dr. Jessica Freeman Partin, along with son-in-law Christopher Partin and granddaughter Grace Kathryn Partin brother Dr. Richard B. Freeman and sister-in-law Dr. Barabra K. Freeman nephew Rick Freeman niece Ellen Freeman and her fiance, Taff Kraatz brother-in-law Lewis Kellison, Jr. and his wife, Debbie brother-in-law Matthew Kellison and his wife, Kristi nephews Lewis, Thomas and Benjamin nieces Kari Foote and Katie Kellison and grand-nephews Dylan and Avon Foote, and Caden Kellison.Bruce is also survived by three of his beloved standard poodles, Tanna, Ellie, and Gibson.