Marvin Fremerman, 92, passed away on Aug. 19.
Marvin was born on Dec. 4, 1931, at Menorah Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended Benton School and Central Junior High School, and he graduated from Paseo High School in 1948. He then attended the University of Missouri, where he became a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and learned he had the ability to write humor, having been called upon to write humorous scripts for “Sammy” parties.
He played freshman basketball at MU and made it up until the last cut when he was released from the team. He then played semi-pro basketball for Simmons Furniture and was a member of the team when they played the Harlem Globetrotters in Sedalia, Missouri. Marvin was also a cheerleader and co-emcee of Savitar Frolics. He was voted UMOC (Ugliest Man on Campus), a popularity contest.
After graduating from Mizzou, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in San Antonio, Texas, at Fort Sam Houston’s Medical Field Service School, which was a division of Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). He played basketball for the BAMC team until receiving an honorable discharge in 1953. While in the Army, he and his partner Larry Pearlstone created and published Teen Illustrated magazine for the youth of San Antonio.
He returned to Kansas City and before long began his own advertising agency, which eventually became Fremerman-Papin, Inc., then Fremerman, Malcy, Spivak and Rosenfield, Inc. Their clients included the Stetson Hat Company, Helzberg’s Diamond Shops, Smaks drive-in restaurants, McDonald’s (when they opened one of their first franchises in Kansas City), Seitz Foods, McCormick Distilling Company, Sears, the Jackson County Democratic Party and Coca-Cola.
Of all the campaigns he created, he was most proud of the work he performed for the Jackson County Democratic Party when his company created “The County Progress Team” campaign and elected eight out of nine candidates, including Bruce Watkins, the first Black candidate to be elected to a county-wide office.
Marvin was also radio and TV chairman for United Way for 14 years and provided his services free of charge. He did volunteer work for the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Center, conducting self-esteem building workshops with newly diagnosed cancer patients, focusing on the relationship between stress and the immune system.
In 1985, he decided to get out of the advertising business and became a sports psychology consultant. In 2003-2004, he wrote a weekly sports column for the Springfield News-Leader. He is the author of numerous books, including “Mind Over Sports: The Relationship of Self-Esteem to Athletic Performance,” “The Dynamics of High Self-Esteem,” and “The Bass Pro Shops Hunting & Fishing Directory” (a product of a company he created, Outdoor Wilderness Adventures, that booked hunting and fishing trips worldwide, including peacock bass fishing trips on the Amazon River in Brazil).
Marvin was proud of his Jewish identity, especially as he was a Kohen, a lineage of high priests whose heritage has been traced back to the first Kohen, Moses’ brother, Aaron. He did much behind-the-scenes volunteer work for many local Kansas City Jewish organizations, including writing and producing an audiovisual presentation for the United Jewish Appeal three months after the Yom Kippur War, when he visited Israel to interview and photograph Israeli soldiers who had saved their country from being pushed into the sea.
Marvin cherished his family and friends, the outdoors, time in nature, bird hunting, fishing, the American West, music of all sorts and animals, especially his dogs Scarlett and Bundle, among many others.
Marvin leaves behind his loving wife of 43 years, Debbie Jean Fremerman; his three beloved children from previous marriages, Gary (Karen) Fremerman, Sarah (Alejandro) Fremerman Aptilon and Elana Fremerman; and five wonderful grandchildren, Jonathan and Ross Fremerman, Elle Haugen, and Leonardo and Eliane Aptilon. He was predeceased by his parents, James and Jean Fremerman; his daughter Devorah Leah; and two brothers, Bernie and Stanley Fremerman.
Shiva was held at The Shul - Chabad of Leawood on Aug. 22 and Aug. 25-27.
Donations on Marvin’s behalf can be made to the Dan Fingersh Hebrew Academy Scholarship Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 West 115th Street, Suite 104, Overland Park, Kansas 66211.
