Frieda Putnam
Thousand Oaks, CA

Frieda was born Elfriede Mayer on December 8, 1927 in Munich, Germany. She passed away on December 15, 2007 in Los Robles Hospital, Thousand Oaks, California. Her parents separated when she was two years old and she moved with her mother to Garmisch. Frieda grew up and went to school in Garmisch and Grainau which is a small suburb of Garmisch.

Freida was a member of the Catholic Church. She was an excellent student and always made good grades in school. In fact she was good at most of the things that she did. She was a good singer. She was a good skier, but her legs were not strong enough for her to be an exceptional skier. She was pretty good at swimming and hiking. Her best subjects were languages. While German was her native tongue, she spoke much better English than her husband, Don, within just a few years after coming to America and wrote business letters that were very clear and comprehensive. She later learned French and spent many years teaching French at the senior citizens' center in Thousand Oaks.

On November 19, 1949 she and Don Putnam were united in marriage. Don said, "my wife was the best thing that could have happened to me." They came to America together in March of 1950. He said, "they didn't have any money, but they never felt poor. We both worked and we usually lived on the money that I earned and saved what Frieda earned. When we went into business, it was the money that Frieda had earned that enabled us to do so. She continued to work for the first two years we were contracting. When the business grew until it required a full time secretary and accountant, she quit her job at Farmer's Insurance and did all the office work that our business required. Many people that we dealt with said that we had the best and clearest records and statements that they encountered."

"Frieda had always been extremely diligent and applied herself. When she was auditing policies for Farmer's Insurance she was the only person who had ever kept the accounts current in the auditing dept. She was never known for making small talk and taking part in office gossip sessions."

"She has always been generous and kind-hearted and fair minded. She has always loved animals of all kinds. She was intensely loyal to her people and her animals."

Frieda is survived by her husband, Don Putnam, Thousand Oaks, CA, nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends.

Service for Frieda is Friday, December 21, 2007, 2:00 p.m. in the Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Ava, MO with Father Paul Wightman officiating. Interment will follow in the Bragg Cemetery, Ava, MO.