Maat Freeman was born in the Bronx, NY on May 27, 1946, to the parents of Jade Freeman and

Elizann Alexander. He was the middle child, and his older brother was Jade Freeman Jr., and his

younger sister was Tiyi Freeman.

Maat lived in the Bronx in his young life and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School

where he was on the basketball team. In 1966 he joined the U.S. Army, and was sent to Fort

Jackson in South Carolina. His service in the Army took him to Germany where he lived for two

years.

In 1968 he married Shirley Freeman on June 15 at Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in

the Bronx, NY. Their first child, April, was born during the time when he and Shirley lived in the

Bronx. Maat and Shirley moved to Amityville Long Island in 1974 where they would have

Ashea in 1980 and Anthony in 1981. Amityville would be where Maat raised his children and

built a stable life.

Professionally, Maat was ambitious. With encouragement and support of his wife, Maat applied

to the Port Authority Police Academy and became a police officer in August of 1971. In 1980,

Maat was promoted to Detective for the Port Authority of NY/NJ and was assigned to LaGuardia

Airport during most of his career. In his time as a detective, Maat worked with the US Secret

Service (USSS), the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) receiving several awards and

commendations over 20 years. On January 22, 2000, Maat officially retired from the Port

Authority. He spent his retirement years in Palm Coast, Florida where he lived until his passing.

Maat is survived by his three children, Dr. April M. Mack, Ashea N. Freeman, and Dr. Athony C.

Freeman and his three grandchildren Alexis Elizann Mack, Cynniah Freeman-Mack, and August

Sebastian Freeman Blount. May Maat’s spirit and legacy live on through his children and

grandchildren.

“ Command Central Two! How can I help you? ‘’, was the way he answered the phone to his friends and family. He always thought it was funny and he was just being himself.

In his spare time, he loved to cook. He enjoyed Italian and Caribbean foods. He also loved playing cards with friends, swimming,watching movies and he took a great interest in making homemade cards for his friends and family which became “his thing”.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to The Autism Science Foundation.