Jerrald “Jerry” Freewalt, 51, Director of the 
Office for Social Concerns for the Diocese of Columbus, died unexpectedly on Thursday, June 11. His funeral was celebrated on Wednesday, June 19 by Bishop Earl Fernandes at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral. Burial was at Sunset Cemetery, Galloway.
Freewalt was employed by the office for 24 ½ years, serving as its director from 2018 to Aug. 1, 2021 and from November 2022 until his death. From late 2021 until his return to the diocesan position, he was Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, a public policy organization representing the bishops of all of Ohio’s Catholic dioceses and eparchies.
He was born on Oct. 5, 1972 in Van Wert to Larry and Cheryl Freewalt. As a young man, he was chief squire for Ohio of the Columbian Squires, a Knights of Columbus youth organization, and a member of the Boy Scouts. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Xavier University in Cincinnati and a Master’s degree in public policy and management from Ohio State University.
He was involved with many agencies promoting Catholic social teaching on human life, anti-poverty, global solidarity and environmental causes, serving as board chair of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, a co-founder of ARCH (Accompanying Returning Citizens with Hope) and a member of the boards of JOIN (the Joint Organization for Inner-City Needs), SPICE (Special People in Catholic Education), the Governor’s Faith-Based Initiatives program, the Immigrant Worker Project and the Ohio Food Policy Council, the Ohio Department of Education’s nonpublic superintendent’s advisory committee, and a trustee of the Providence Fund of the Sisters of St. Francis at Stella Niagara, New York.
In 2019, he received the Champion of Children award from the Ohio Family and Children’s First Coordinators Association for his efforts on behalf of young people with complex behavioral health needs. He was one of the lead advocates for Ohio’s RISE (Resilience through Integrated Systems and Excellence) program and served on its advisory council.
He led the Notre Dame Urban Plunge, in which University of Notre Dame students work with Columbus service agencies, for 20 years and the annual Good Friday Walking Stations of the Cross in downtown Columbus since 1996.
He was a member of Columbus St. Margaret of Cortona Church, coached baseball, flag football and girls basketball for his children’s teams and was a Boy Scout troop committee member.
He is survived by his parents; his wife, Karen; daughter, Hannah; sons, Alexander and Charles; brother, Jason; and sister, Rachel Reed.
Please pray for Jerry and his family during this difficult time. If you are inclined to help the family out in this unexpected financial burden, visit this Go Fund Me page.
