DAVENPORT, Iowa — About 150 people attended a Celebration of Life for Kevin and Donna Freese, who were shot and killed in their home by their adopted son, Sean Freese earlier this month, at Lexus of the Quad Cities on Sunday.
The couple, heavily involved in the Quad Cities, leaves behind two other children, Cory Gamble and Ashley Freese.
"Cory and Ashley asked me if I would do a celebration of life party for them so I gathered all our volunteers, people from the chamber and we all just came together," said Jan Pomije, a friend of Kevin and Donna's.
The celebration of life party had live music, dancing, wine, beer and food; something friends say, Kevin, 58 and Donna, 57 would have liked.
"I don’t ever remember seeing Donna not smile. Even in the bad times she was smiling," said Pomije.
Sean Freese, 20 is being held at Scott County Jail, he's charged with two counts of first degree murder and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond, but friends are not focusing on the way Kevin and Donna were killed.
"You can’t go there, you can’t go there because some things don’t make sense. And the only thing that makes sense is knowing the friendships," said Gwen Tombergs, a friend of Kevin and Donna Freese.
Pomije, who started Heart of Our Quad Cities with Donna Freese says she doesn't talk about the way her friends were killed.
"In honor of them and the family we don’t talk about it. It’s a private issue. So, we pray for them and just try to embrace Ashley and Cory as much as we can to try and ease the pain a little bit," said Pomije.
According to the couple's obituary, Kevin and Donna were members of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, where Donna had participated in mission work trips to Appalachia. They were active members and volunteers with The Chamber Commerce and other non-profits including the Make-A Wish Foundation, March of Dimes, King's Harvest Homeless Shelter, CASI and Festival of Trees.
"I didn't know Donna and Kevin until a few years ago and now since them, I've met 50 new friends, so if you think of it that way, how they died doesn't matter. It's how they lived," said Tombergs.
Cory Gamble and Ashley Freese attending the Celebration of Life ceremony. Gamble lives in the Quad Cities and says he plans to continue his parents charity work.