Jere L. Freiboth, age 72 of Terry.

Jere Leroy Freiboth has passed away in the comfort of his own home. He joins his wife Jeannine of 43 years in heaven. He has missed her a lot. If some of this story sounds familiar, it’s because their lifelines were so entangled in the most beautiful of a way. Mom and Dad were intended to be a pair that tackled life, family, and all the in-betweens.

Jere (aka Jed, Jer, Dad, and Grandpa) was born on June 1st, 1953, in Terry, Montana to Roberta (Hamlin) and Ray Freiboth. He would complete the family’s set of boys and join his older brothers Wray, Wade, and Lane – with sister Toni joining the bunch shortly after.

Dad attended Terry School systems and had a strong sense of purpose and responsibility from a young age. While looking up to his talented older brothers, dad loved all sports and was active in many school groups. In his spare time you could find him at the grocery store, playing baseball, and spending time with his Mom and Dad.
Junior year he met his sweetheart for life – Jeannine Smith. He said it was love and first sight. Their date nights usually consisted of a drive in movie and ordering a Straight Vanilla from Young’s Bar and Cafe. They were crowned Prom King and Queen in 1971.

After graduating from THS in 1971, Jere attended Great Falls Commercial College and earned a degree in Business Administration and Higher Accounting. And with schooling out of the way for both of them, Jere and Jeannine were ready for their next step together. They were married on May 24th, 1975 at the Presbyterian Church.
The following month he would take his first position back home at Terry Schools District No 5 as a clerk/business manager. He loved the energy of working at the school and being around kids. He developed many friendships and made many memories during his 5 years in this role.

His next big opportunity would come in 1981 when Albert Brubaker offered him a job at State Bank of Terry. He started as a cashier and continued to work there for 36 years as a loan officer and eventually branch manager under the Stockman Bank banner. He did not take this role in the community lightly and he felt it was extremely meaningful, important work. He loved his entire bank team family. I don’t think it was a stretch to assume his favorite responsibility was being in charge of the grill at special events at the park or at a Terrier tailgate.
When not at work, Jere and Jeannine partied and danced for many years enjoying the finer things in life like bowling league, bridge games, whist, and going to Disneyland in their 1977 Ford Thunderbird T-Top (alongside Wray, Ramona, Celeste, and Cameron Freiboth).
The duo wanted nothing more than start a family, and they began this journey with the adoption of their first child – Jade, in 1986. And then in 1989 they were blessed with a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl – Jasmine. Jordan would eventually become the “baby girl” of the family in 1992. Jerett was an “almost Irish Twin” born in 1993 and was the missing piece of their family puzzle.

Jere embraced his “Dad” title while balancing the demands and responsibility of being such an important provider to the family of 6. While the majority of days were spent at the bank, his evenings and weekends were dedicated to the family and community. He was in charge of Friday night pizza and milkshakes, coordinated family trips to Medora and Rapid City, and was a faithful Terry Terrier fan. You could be sure to find him running a sports clock, chalking the softball field for a home game, or reading through the latest issuance of the Montana Officials Association handbook. If you knew Jere, you knew his voice was made for NPR. He could bid-call a calcutta, emcee any event, or his most iconic mic-moment of announcing a Terry Terrier starting line up in the Ray Frank gymnasium.

Dad and mom watched with pride as all their children graduated from Terry High School and supported them all through the next phases of their life – college, cosmetology school, first jobs, marriage, starting families of their own, and independent career paths.

Dad added an important new title to his name – Grandpa – in 2013 with the birth of the first grandbaby – Finley LouElla Smart (daughter of Jasmine and Patrick Smart, of Glendive). The family tree would grow again with grandson Kelton Donovan (2016), and Foster Patrick (2019). He also kept up with granddaughters Jaysha Jaeann (25 years old), Olivia May (18), and Giada Jane (6) from Billings (Jade and Justin Jagers).

In 2018 Dad’s life was turned upside down with Mom’s passing. Without his partner of 43 years, the biggest part of his identity was no longer by his side. As a family it would take us a few years to get back on track, but we got to a place where our new normal was found. We were able to start laughing again, start making new memories, and know that there was so much good left to enjoy together. It was okay to be happy. We were going to be okay.
And we were. When Jerett and Hannah got married in 2021, it was a reminder of family strength and togetherness. One of Dad’s highlights through these years were Jerett’s frequent visits to his home as he was driving back and forth for work. They spent time deciding what they should grill for dinner while catching up on conversations about current events, sports, careers, and how to navigate life.

Because Dad loved technology, he was good at keeping up with friends and family virtually. You could find him active on his Facebook page, and he took it as a personal responsibility to provide updates on the rainfall to the community. He loved his regular Skype check-in calls with his siblings, or texting his children the iconic “thumbs up” emoji as a general response.
Dad kept up with the Terriers and all eastern Montana sports from the comfort of his favorite chair. He remained a big baseball fan and celebrated watching the Dodgers win the World Series in 2024. He would travel to Glendive frequently to watch the Smart grandchildren participate in sports and make sure to stop by Boss to see Jasmine and drop off fresh garden salsa and cucumbers. A sports trip to watch the Colorado Buffalos hosted by his Frank and Celeste (daughter of Wray and Ramona) Gibbs was a recent memory he held close to his heart.
Over the years Dad took special care of Mom’s plants and worked closely with Jordy on walk-throughs throughout the yard and took suggestions for planning which ones looked best and where they could thrive. She helped him revive succulents, his indoor pots, and they bonded around their love of Tulips.

Jere looked forward to taking hunting reconnaissance truck rides with Justin, the extra help with house maintenance from Patrick, and Hannah bringing him scones. He liked hosting his kids and family over holidays, Rockin on the Corner, Terry Yippee, and visits home when we all needed a little Terry-reset. He loved a good cold Powerade from 4-Corners, Miki’s Noodles, and Finger Steaks with onion rings from Roy Rogers. You could find him in his backyard taking care of Mom’s flowers or firing up the Trager to smoke some steaks. Dad was also thankful for his backyard visits and regular front porch treat drop offs from his neighbors of 38 years Tom and Kay Pisk.
Dad would want people to remember he had a good lawn, made the best caramel rolls, and that he was a loving son, brother, friend, husband, and grandpa. We may not have known all those versions of dad, but we all loved the individual pieces that we got along the way.

Jere is survived by his 4 children Jade (Justin Jagers), Jasmine (Patrick Smart), Jordan, and Jerett (Hannah Rodne); brother Wade Freiboth (m. Dianne Dirks); brother Lane Freiboth (m Sherry Grinager); sister Toni Kalfell of Bismarck.

Memorial services will be held graveside on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Prairie County Cemetery in Terry. A luncheon will follow at the Evelyn Cameron Heritage Center located at 212 Laundre Ave.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you to consider a donation to support Rock’n on the Corner in Prairie County or directly to the Town of Terry to support the new Murn Park playground equipment installation or Save our Pool Fund.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com.

Service Schedule

Graveside Service

11:00 a.m.

Saturday October 11, 2025

Prairie County Cemetery

Cemetery Rd.

Terry, Montana 59349

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Luncheon

Following the Graveside Service

Saturday October 11, 2025

Evelyn Cameron Heritage Center

212 Laundre Ave

Terry , Montana 59349

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