Michael Lewis Freilich, an attorney, educator and community activist, passed away last Saturday, Feb. 15. The Cockeysville resident was 80.
A native of Hanover, Pennsylvania, Freilich displayed a strong passion for learning since childhood, wrote his family on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Columbia University in New York City in 1966, he went on to receive a doctorate in philosophy at Ohio State University in Columbus.
“His academic path was further shaped by his service as a Melton Research Fellow, a role that set the stage for a lifelong commitment to education and service,” his family posted.
In the early 1970s, Freilich decided to pursue a new career path and attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. He became a successful real estate attorney, working with different firms and eventually opening his own practice in Baltimore County in 1975.
Freilich advised clients on estate planning, trusts and wills, probate and real estate. He was included in the Top Attorneys of North America 2020-2021 edition. He was also a past president of the Maryland Collaborative Law Association Inc.
“Michael has been involved in almost every type of residential real estate in his 40+ years,” noted the website of Freilich Law. “For many years, he described himself as the ‘dirt attorney.’ If it touched the ground, it was his expertise.”
In addition to his law career, Freilich taught philosophy at Ohio State and John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
He also taught adult education classes and in the Baltimore County Public Schools system.
“Over the years, he shared his expertise with countless professionals, teaching continuing education courses to Title Insurance Agents, Real Estate Agents and Brokers, Health Insurance Agents, and lawyers,” wrote his family. “Michael’s commitment to adult education earned him the Outstanding Adult Educator Award from Baltimore County Public Schools, a testament to his impact on those he taught.”
A Beth Israel congregant, Freilich was involved in the Jewish community and a longtime member of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, the umbrella organization for approximately 200 men’s auxiliaries around the world. In 2015, he was honored with the Baltimore-based FJMC’s highest national award and honored with a Lifetime Achievement Society Award three years later.
Among the different nonprofits in which Freilich served in leadership capacities were the Baltimore Health Insurance Underwriters, the Maryland Health Insurance Underwriters and the board of directors of the Maryland chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
“I first met Michael some 60 years ago at Camp Ramah, where he taught a course about aesthetics,” wrote retired Owings Mills attorney and real estate developer Nissim Dahan. “His depth of knowledge was a bit intimidating, but you could tell that he really cared about his students. He inspired me to build a miniature Greek temple and used it as an example of the aesthetic.
“Ever since then, we remained close friends. He introduced my wife and I to the world of skiing,” Dahan wrote. “We will miss him in so many ways: his insights, his humor, his advice, but most of all, his heart of gold.”
Freilich is survived by his spouse, Barbara Freilich (nee Tapper); his children, David (Rachel) Freilich, and Myra “Honey” Cohen (Moshe Cohen); and his grandchildren, Noah Freilich, Sadie Cohen, Chana Cohen, and Lillian Freilich.
He was predeceased by his parents, Theresa and Harry Freilich; and his sister, Marilyn (Allen) Breitman.
Services for Freilich will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 12:30 p.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. Interment will be at Garden of Remembrance Memorial Park, 14321 Comus Road in Clarksburg, Maryland.
Contributions in Freilich’s memory may be sent to Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, 300 E. Lombard Street, Suite 840, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, or to Beth Israel Congregation, 3706 Crondall Lane, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117.
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