Photo by Emily Reed
Members of a U.S. military honor guard stand watch at the funeral of Ronald Wilburn Freeze, a Hoover, Alabama, man known by many as the "Galleria Elvis" because of his frequent appearances as a mall walker.
Roughly 30 people showed up Wednesday for the funeral of the mysterious man known to many as the “Galleria Elvis.”
The service for Ronald Wilburn Freeze was held at the Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home on John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover. Freeze was widely recognized as a frequent mall walker at the Riverchase Galleria and Brookwood Village for decades, and many who came to pay final respects had interacted with him at one time or another during his life.
But Freeze remained a man of much intrigue to the community at large, so much so that there were threads about him on the Reddit online social news site and forum.
Brandon Matthews, lead team pastor for Cultivate Church in Alabaster, didn’t know Freeze personally, but he gave a tribute during the funeral.
Ronald Freeze
“I think I can say this is definitely an unusual circumstance for me,” Matthews said about delivering the eulogy for Freeze. He spoke about Freeze’s life that held a lot of mystery and heartache, including the loss of his wife and two daughters at a relatively young age.
“I’m sure there were probably sometimes that you saw him walking at the mall and wondered to yourself about him, you maybe grabbed your kids a little bit closer to you because you weren’t really sure about this man, but I think we can look around and see that Mr. Freeze made an impact,” Matthews said. “He left a legacy.”
Matthews referenced a Biblical story in 2 Chronicles where a king named Jehoram ruled for eight years and when he died, no one regretted his death.
“You had this king who had been ruling for eight years, and when he died, not a single person was upset about it,” Matthews said. “I think with Mr. Freeze, you have a lot of people who really regretted not knowing him more when he was alive.”
Matthews also noted that Freeze made an impact on many people throughout his life and was fondly remembered on many social media threads when news of his death began circulating.
Members of the Hoover police and fire departments served as pallbearers, and police officers provided an escort as Freeze’s body took one last loop around the Riverchase Galleria on Galleria Circle in a hearse.
Photo by Emily Reed
Members of the Hoover police and fire departments load the casket of Ronald Wilburn Freeze onto a hearse at the Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home in Hoover, Alabama, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Freeze was known by many in the community as the "Galleria Elvis" because of his frequent appearances as a mall walker at the Riverchase Galleria.
Traffic along John Hawkins Parkway stopped as the hearse passed through the area, with several bystanders along the route waving to the procession.
Hoover City Council President John Lyda organized the police escort and the police and fire department pallbearers.
William Blakey led the order of service for the funeral, while Donald Steele performed “Taps” during the ceremony.
Two U.S. military honor guard members performed a flag-folding ceremony and presented the American flag from Freeze’s casket to Trish Garmon, who assumed the role of next of kin.
Garmon, a resident of Alabaster who grew up in Hoover, was instrumental in organizing Freeze’s funeral.
When she saw the news of Freeze’s death in early September, she wanted to step in and figure out a way to give Freeze a proper burial, so she created a GoFundMe account to raise money to cover expenses. More than $7,000 was raised on GoFundMe.
“I think for me, Mr. Freeze embodied what I felt like a grandfather figure should be,” Garmon said. “I wanted to honor him in a way that would be meaningful and that he would be proud of. If you grew up in Hoover or you spent any time at the Galleria the last three decades, you likely saw him, and when I heard about his situation, I knew that I needed to step up and help in some way.”
Garmon said learning more about Freeze has compelled her to be more aware of the dignity of conversation with others around her.
“I think, if anything, I have learned that it is important to recognize the people around us that we interact with each day,” Garmon said. “We never know what people are facing, and I think this has taught me to have more empathy for those I come into contact with.
Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home Assistant Manager Bob Potter said when he was in embalming school years ago, he learned that you can judge the character of a community by how they treat their dead.
“Look around, Hoover,” Potter said. “Well done.”
