Benjamin Freze

With heavy hearts, we share the news of the passing of Benjamin H. Freze, a renowned engineer and loving husband, father, and grandfather who touched so many lives. Ben passed away on March 10, 2025, at the age of 94.Born on May 24, 1930, to German immigrants Henry and Juliana Freze, Ben often said he was “hatched under a rock in Crow Rock, Montana.” This wasn’t hard to believe, as Ben was the last of nine children who lived on the family farm in Crow Rock during The Great Depression. In Miles City, Montana, where young Ben attended grade school, he was quite the basketball player with his two-handed, behind-the-back, underhand shot that couldn’t be defended. By the mid-1940s, Ben moved to Southern California with his older brother Dan, where he finished high school at Long Beach Poly High and graduated from USC with a Mechanical Engineering degree.In 1972, Ben married a loving nurse, Ann Gerhard, and they went on to raise several children in their family home in Garden Grove, CA. They were both proud members of the Methodist Church and were involved in many extracurricular activities in retirement, which included volunteering at The Assistance League of Garden Grove for 20 years. Ben also served on the planning committee for the city of Garden Grove, where he implemented many ideas and worked on numerous projects.

For most of his career, Ben worked at Challenge Cook Bros, as a lead engineer and manager for 30 years, where he invented several devices and processes for the commercial dryer and textile industries that are still used today. Ben is the owner of dozens of U.S. patents registered from the 1970s-1990s. After a brief retirement, Ben returned to the industry for another 7 years to finish his career with Prudential Overall Supply.

Ben eventually became known in this world to all who met him as Grandpa Ben. The patriarch of both his family and Ann’s, Grandpa Ben was always a rock to lean on, a husband to confide in, a father who provided, a grandfather to learn from, and a friend for all to laugh, argue, and debate with. Anyone acquainted with Grandpa Ben understood that this man knew what he wanted, and he earned everyone’s respect. He kept things in a straight line and was content with loving Jesus, loving his wife and family, watching a Trojans game, and eating chicken gizzards or anything Ann cooked him. And as you read this, the man himself wouldn’t want you to grieve too hard, as his favorite saying states, “Woulda, coulda, shoulda… move on.”

Ben is survived by his spouse of 52 years, Ann Freze, his two sons, Michael Freze of Anaconda, MT, and Benji Freze of Vista, CA, and Ann’s 3 children (Brad Gerhard, Brian Gerhard, Geri Mitchell). Ben and Ann together have 11 grandchildren (Mike Freze, Matthew Freze, Molly Freze Bethune, Joseph Freze, Skylar Freze, Courtney Crowe, Meghan Freze Munoz, Nicholas Gerhard, Ingrid Gerhard) and 2 great-grandchildren (Jackson Bethune, Gunner Bethune).

A memorial service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20, at the Forest Lawn Cemetery (4471 Lincoln Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630). Following will be a reception at Emerald Court (1731 West Medical Center Drv, Anaheim, CA 92801).

Benjamin Freze, 94, born on May 24, 1930, in Crow Rock, MT, United States, passed away March 10, 2025. He resided in Anaheim, CA at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the care of Forest Lawn, Cypress, CA.

Reception to follow services at Emerald Court from 2pm-5pm in the Sapphire Room.

1731 W Medical Center Dr, Anaheim, CA 92801