Mark Cletus Freitag

Mark Freitag

Mark Cletus Freitag was born in Rock Island, Illinois on April 9, 1950. Adopted as an infant by Cletus “Clip” Freitag and Dolores (Wellman) Freitag, he grew up in West Point, Iowa graduating from Marquette, High School. Mark showed horses as a teenager, winning several events including The National Champion Pleasure Class in Albuquerque, NM. Following graduation, he briefly attended technical school in Des Moines before joining the Air Force. He met Linda Blumfield while stationed in Great Falls, MT, they married, and had three children, and bought a farm in Farmington, Iowa. Mark attended college at SE Iowa Community college, training as a welder. Years later, he followed his kids to Billings, MT, finding work at Beall Trailers, welding liquid tank trailers. Billings is where Mark met his match, Mary Jane Althoff. Meeting through the dance group the High Plains Dancers, they married in 1995, with Mary’s teenage daughters Stacie & Sara joining the family. They spent many happy years ranching together, and have welcomed many grandchildren & great-grandchildren.

Mark is preceded in death by his parents, Uncles and Aunts Wellman: Bob, Donald, Stanley, Paul, Germaine, Bernice, Crescentia, and Virginia; of the Freitags, Uncles Linus, Leo & Alvie, Louis, Bernard and Aunt Bernadine Peiffer.

He is survived by his lifetime dance partner & love Mary Jane. Children Chad (Anya) Freitag, Amy (Jeff) Berve, Ryan Freitag, Stacie (Austin) Heil, of Billings, MT, and Sara (Cody) Belgarde of Alvin, TX. Grandchildren include Tasia & Kyler (Kim) Berve; Phillip, Dyllan, and Nathan Freitag; Devon (Toya) Heil, Hailey (Konner) Anderson, and Aleda & Braxton Belgarde. The great-grandkids are Ember Berve, Rosalia, Rheya, and Ruth Berve, and Karter Anderson. Uncle Ron Wellman & Aunt Phyllis Ward, and many cousins he loved very much.

A graveside service will be held at Yellowstone National Cemetery on Wednesday, November 20th at 2 PM with military honors. A memorial mass will be held in West Point, IA and Houghton, IA at a later date.