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Donald Ashe Freytag died peacefully on April 2, 2019 at the age of 81 in Vero Beach, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois on April 17, 1937 to the late Elmer Walter and Mary Louise (Mayo) Freytag, he grew up in Highland Park, Illinois and graduated cum laude from Lake Forest Academy in 1955. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Yale University in 1959 and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from Harvard University in 1963. From 1959 to 1961 he served on active duty with the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army parachute unit as an intelligence officer and jumpmaster, making 27 jumps from single and multi-engine aircraft.
His business career included positions with Hunt-Wesson Foods, Warner-Lambert, The Pepsi Cola Company, Beverage Management, and G.D. Ritzy’s. He also served on numerous boards of advisors and boards of directors in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industries, and was an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University where he taught classes in business policy and strategic planning. He is a former director and past president of the Harvard Business School Club of Columbus, a former trustee and past president of the Central Ohio Center for Economic Education, and the 1991 recipient of the Roman F. Warmke award for his contributions to economic education in Ohio. He was also a trustee of The Columbus Academy and a member of the Yale Club and the 82nd Airborne Division Association. Throughout his life, he enjoyed jogging, scuba diving, biking, golf, and especially, reading.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Freytag; three sons, Donald (Becky) Freytag of Louisville, Kentucky, Gavin (Maggie) Freytag of Columbus, Ohio, and Alexander (Christine) Freytag of Columbus, Ohio; nine grandchildren (who affectionately knew him as PopPop): Charlotte, Lily, Slater, Abigail, Eliza, Hunter, Alec, Sophia, and Ethan; and sister, Dorothy Howe, of San Diego, California.
He will be interred on Nantucket in a private family service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.
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