Bob Freligh will celebrate his 100th birthday on May 22 and his family would love to have the Adrian College community reach out to him with happy birthday wishes in the form of cards, messages and videos posted to  Bob’s Big Birthday on Kudoboard.

Adrian College has featured the Bob and Jean Lok Freligh Community Lecture Series annually since 2013. The series brings nationally and internationally known speakers to campus each year ranging from bestselling author Dr. Meg Jay (“The Defining Decade”) to author Ken Starr (“Contempt”), the former independent counsel during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Bob Freligh will celebrate his 100th birthday on May 22 and his family would love to have the Adrian College community reach out to him with happy birthday wishes in the form of cards, messages and videos posted to  Bob’s Big Birthday on Kudoboard.

Bob was born in Detroit, Mich., in 1921 and moved to Adrian to live in an orphanage in 1927. He graduated from Adrian High School in 1939 and joined Adrian College soon after. He went to college for approximately a year and a half before enlisting in the Naval Air Service in 1942. After enlisting, Bob was sent back to college to finish his second year and was called up for service in June.

Bob received his flight wings in July of 1943 and went on to serve as a torpedo bomber pilot, flying from the aircraft carrier USS Franklin. He saw action against Japanese forces during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and was shot down during combat on October 24, 1944. Bob made an emergency water landing after sustaining gunfire damage to his plane and launched a direct torpedo hit on a Japanese battleship. He was a lieutenant (junior grade) at the time and was awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest medal for valor that the Navy awards, for his part in the battle. Bob shared his military experiences with the Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum.

When the war ended, Bob wanted to go back to college, so he volunteered to get out. After leaving the service, he decided to use his GI Bill benefits to return to college and gave Adrian College a look when visiting his fiancé, Jean, who lived just down the road from the college on Williams Street. His daughter, Penelope Pankow, shared the following family story about Bob returning to Adrian:

“He was walking near the campus and saw Al Rush (Rush Hall), who asked Dad what he wanted to do now that his service was over,” she said. “Dad said that he was hoping to pursue a career in accounting. Mr. Rush said that Adrian did not have an accounting program but that Albion had just hired an accounting professor and was growing their program. Mr. Rush worked quickly and got Dad’s transcripts sent to Albion. Dad got into the accounting program in September of 1945 and graduated in spring 1947. Even though Dad did not get his degree at Adrian, Adrian College was instrumental in his attending Albion.”

Bob received a degree in Business Administration and Economics and went on to work for Root Nicolai, a small CPA firm in Adrian. He also worked in finance and accounting at Brazeway for several years and then in the same capacity at Kewaunee Scientific, which was also in Adrian.

Bob attributes his longevity to “being active.” He said he took up long-distance running when he was in his late 40’s and ran many, many miles around Lenawee County. At one point he was injured and consulted with Gary Gray (Gray Institute, Adrian), who was a local physical therapist at the time. Gary helped Bob with his injury and also offered the advice that if people would stay active, they would live longer and healthier lives.

To this day, Bob exercises and gets out regularly for walks. When the Covid-19 pandemic started, he began online exercises with Gary Gray.

“Dad always says that it is Gary Gray’s fault that he has lived so long,” Penelope said.

Although Jean earned a lot of credit hours at Adrian College, she married Bob in the fall of 1945 and then graduated from Albion in the spring of 1947 with a degree in BA and economics, even though she had enough credit hours in language that she could have majored in.

Jean passed away in 1999 but her memory lives on through her family, and the Bob and Jean Lok Freligh Community Lecture Series at Adrian College.

“Mom was the best Mom ever,” Penelope said. “She raised five children and was a friend to many, many people in the community. She knew more about the history of Adrian and its families than anyone I know. She was also active — she ran, loved playing golf, and traveled the globe with Dad post his retirement. We miss her every day.”

Bob is currently enjoying retirement in Rochester NY, where three of his four daughters reside.