Mildred Nancee Van Gorden

JAMES ISLAND-- Mildred Nancee Van Gorden, 89, entered into eternal life March 30, 2015, with her daughter and grandson by her side. Born on April 19, 1925, to Harry and Julia Nanke Van Gorden in Sayville, Long Island, she was one of three children. After losing her mother at the tender age of 12 her father remarried and had a son Harry Peter Van Gorden. Mildred worked during WWII on the Nordin bomb site with Sperry Gyroscope Co. She moved to Miami, Florida with her infant daughter in 1945 and eventually began a long career of 30 years with the Dade County Assessor's Office. She worked primarily as an appraiser retiring in 1985. She was the Recording Secretary for AFSCME-Local 1063--the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees. She also represented AFSCME as a Contract Negotiator in Washington DC working for women's rights in the workplace. Mildred was a master seamstress specializing in making her own formal draperies and Halloween costumes for her daughter. Mildred also was a lover of animals...dogs and cats..and took in many strays while living in Homestead, Florida. She enjoyed antiquing and renovating a large Victorian home in Homestead among the tomato fields along with her now deceased husband. She enjoyed fishing and boating while going further south and living in the Florida Keys before moving to Charleston around 1989 to be near her only daughter. She was preceded in death by her parents and several husbands. Mildred's only daughter, Cheryle Anita Veneto Freiberger of Charleston, South Carolina survives her. Other survivors include her two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren: Mia N. Freiberger-Devillier and Justin Devillier and children Ruby and Beatrice of New Orleans; Rex Flay Freiberger of Los Angeles; her older sister Evelyn Wenz and niece Carolyn and Tommy Walters of Loganville, Ga.; great-niece Denise and Warren Alcorn and their children Julia and Jessie Alcorn of Monroe, Ga.; niece Linda and Ron Mikesh of Concord, NC.; great-nephews Ron and Chris Mikesh; her younger brother Harry Van Gorden of Arkansas and other nieces, nephews and cousins. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 from 6:30 til 8pm with recitation of the rosary at 7pm at McAlister-Smith Funeral Home James Island. Funeral and commitment service will be held at Union Cemetery, Sayville, Long Island. Mildred's family wishes to express their gratitude to the Palliative Care team at Roper Hospital and the Hospice of Charleston Inpatient Unit for their care and compassion. Arrangements by McAlister-Smith Funeral Home 347 Folly Rd. James Island.

Visitation:
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 7:00PM