Freda Hosen, 90, passed away on Sunday, December 14, 2025, at her home in Sioux Falls. The family will greet friends for visitation at 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at Miller Funeral Home - Downtown Chapel (507 S. Main Ave., Sioux Falls). Freda will be laid to rest at Mount Zion Cemetery following the visitation.

Freda was born on December 13, 1935, in Middleboro, Kentucky, to Fred and Margaret (Auxier) Harris. Freda pursued her education with a lifelong passion for learning and history. She attended Mississippi Women's University in Columbus, Mississippi, from 1954 to 1956, and George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1957 to 1958. She later earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, graduating cum laude from Augustana College in Sioux Falls in 1975. She was honored with membership in Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honorary society.

On August 26, 1956, Freda married Richard Hosen in West Point, Mississippi. The couple was blessed with three children, Ann, Eric, and Ruth.

Freda worked as an assistant bookkeeper at the Tulane University Bookstore in New Orleans during the 1956–1957 academic year. From 1975 to 1978, she served as an interviewer for the South Dakota Oral History Project at the University of South Dakota. She also worked with the Center for Western Studies at Augustana College as an area history researcher and microfilmer.

Freda was closely associated with the Siouxland Heritage Museums, where she served in multiple roles, including Volunteer Coordinator from 1986 to 1988, and later as Special Events Coordinator. She was also contracted to produce the booklet Building Use Guidelines, outlining rental policies for public spaces in the restored Old Courthouse Museum.

Her commitment to civic and cultural leadership was extensive. She served on numerous boards, including the Siouxland Heritage Museums Board of Trustees, where she was Chair from 1981 to 1983; the South Dakota Committee on the Humanities, serving as Chair beginning in 1987; the Historic South Dakota Foundation Board of Directors; the Sioux Falls Board of Preservation; and the South Dakota Humanities Foundation, where she was a co-founding board member.

Freda was involved in her community and led a life of faith. At Mt. Zion Temple, she served as Fundraising Chair, editor of the monthly newsletter, member of the Board of Trustees, and later Vice Chair. She was also Treasurer of the Mary Chilton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She held life memberships in several historical organizations, including the South Dakota State Historical Society, Minnehaha County Historical Society, and Hadassah.

Her personal interests included United States social history, state and local history, and the preservation of popular culture through collecting and upgrading historic sheet music and recorded music, particularly works with topical themes.

Freda is survived by her husband, Dr. Richard Hosen; children, Ann (Leo) Rosenstein, Eric Hosen, and Ruth (James) Williams; 7 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and numerous other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Margaret, and sister, Margaret Elmer.