Dr. William “Bill” Peter Freitag is remembered by many in Wake County as a compassionate mentor and influential leader in education. Bill was born on June 8, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, where he was educated in the Chicago Public School System. Bill earned a B.A. from North Illinois University and an M.A. from Roosevelt University, then returned to the Chicago Public School System as a P.E. teacher and school administrator.
In 1965, Bill moved his family to Durham, North Carolina to pursue a Doctorate in Education from Duke University, where he became a devoted Duke Basketball fan and a member of the Duke Alumni Association.
In 1968, he was hired by the Raleigh City School System. He served as the Assistant Superintendent for Personnel for both Raleigh City Schools and the Wake County Public School System for 22 years until his retirement in 1990, and was instrumental in the merge between the Raleigh and Wake County school systems.
While in Raleigh, Bill was also President of Raleigh Sertoma Arts Center and President of Wake County Opportunities, Inc. Bill was a Mason for more than 50 years, serving as Master of his Blue Lodge in 1964. He was a veteran of the US Navy during WWII and a Shriner.
An avid golfer, he was also President of the Raleigh Country Club. After retiring from the Wake County Public School System, Bill and his wife Vickey moved to Whispering Pines, North Carolina, so that he could pursue his love of golf on a daily basis. While in Whispering Pines, he served as President of the Whispering Pines Country Club for a number of years.
During his retirement, Bill enjoyed going to Cameron Indoor Stadium for all of Duke’s home basketball games, watching movies, and reading books. Bill and Vickey were married for 53 years until her death in 2004. They had two children, Donna Freitag Craven and Kurt Freitag, along with two grandchildren. Sadly, Bill passed away on August 22, 2012. He is remembered as a wonderful father and grandfather, a listener, and a caring friend to all, with a smile that never failed to light up the room.
Dr. William Freitag was inducted posthumously into the Wake County Public School System Hall of Fame in 2017.
