Omro – John L. Freund, 94, of Omro, passed away peacefully with family by his side, on October 13, 2021 at Evergreen Retirement Community. He resided at Arborview Manor until recently. John was born on the family farm in Omro on January 19, 1927. He was the youngest child of John J. and Rose B. (Schrage) Freund.
John graduated from Omro High School in 1944 and Oshkosh State Teachers College in 1949. He married his high school sweetheart, Lucille J. Neary, on December 1, 1945, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in the town of Poygan. John and Lucille worked together, loaded up the family car and traveled together, and enjoyed activities and time spent with friends and their families. Lucille preceded him in death on September 17, 1992.
John was a life-long member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Omro, serving as a lector, usher, and parish council member.
John joined his eldest brother, Ernie, to begin his passionate lifetime career in real estate and auctioneering, which also later included insurance sales. Freund auctions were well known and were a weekend family event in the Omro/Oshkosh areas. The family always enjoyed closing out an auction with dinner, old fashioneds, and fun. John was a founding member of the Wisconsin Auctioneers Association. He served as its president in 1973 and 1974 and was named 1980 Outstanding Auctioneer of the Year.
John was an active community member. He served on the Omro Board of Education. He was a charter member of the Omro Kiwanis, actively serving that organization for over 50 years. John served as a Director of Winnebago County Bank for over 25 years. He was a member and past president of the local Board of Realtors and was Realtor of the Year in 1965. He was a member of the National Association of Farm and Land Brokers. John was also a member of the Omro Jaycees and Oshkosh Elks.
John enjoyed many years of bowling and golf leagues. He also enjoyed deer hunting and was a proud member of the Sawyer Swampers Hunt Club. John enjoyed many winters vacationing in Florida. He especially enjoyed fishing there with his Omro friends, fish fry’s, and socializing. It was never determined if it was John or his friend, Judd, who caught the biggest bass.
John is survived by his daughter, Janet Abalan, and son, Michael (Mona) Freund; grandchildren Kathryn Freund (Roger Baron) and Kristin (Andy) Duda, and their mother, Mary Morelli, Ryan (Kimberly) Abalan and John Abalan, Lauren Price and Andrew Freund; great-grandchildren Nicholas and Owen Duda, Lucy and Claire Abalan, and Lily and Trenton Price.
In addition to his wife and parents, John was preceded in death by his son Robert; siblings Ernest Freund, Naomi Ziebell, Adell Lesniak, Alyce Freund, Alvin Freund, and Frances Blount; and infant grandchild Meghan Abalan.
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History of Auctioneering
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In 1964, Sotheby’s expanded itself by buying Parke-Bernet, the USA’s largest fine art auction house at the time. Today, it’s noted as the oldest and largest international firm of fine art auctioneers in the world. It has 80 locations across the globe and sees an annual turnover of about $4 billion.
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In 1786, Christie’s sold the library of the famous Dr. Samuel Johnson, creator of the Dictionary of the English Language (1755). This collection included insightful books on a variety of topics, including but not limited to medicine, law, math, and theology.
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In 1824, The National Gallery was founded in London. It opened its doors with many purchases from Christie’s. New York’s MET museum also made its first connection to the London market through Christie’s, sending them their first lot for sale in 1958. Today, Christie’s boasts a worldwide influence with locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
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In June 2019, French-Israeli telecom businessman Patrick Drahi made an offer to buy Sotheby’s for $3.7 billion. This meant that following the acquisition, Sotheby’s could be more flexible in its deals now that it didn’t have to justify expensive guarantees or other benefits to shareholders. This new structure also gave comfort to their higher-profile buyers who would rather not be scrutinized by the public eye. Following the adoption of this new private curtain, the comparison between Sotheby’s and Christie’s was more strongly apples to apples than ever before.
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The auction by candle also played a pivotal role in defining legal history. It was used as a standard procedure in the Court of Chancery, where trust property was sold off. The Sales of Land by Auction Act 1867 officially made it lawful to pay commission to an auctioneer, marking a significant milestone in the auctioneering profession.
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The most valuable picture postcard in the world was sent by Theodore Hook Esq. to himself in 1840 and was bought at the London Stamp Exchange auction, UK on 8 March 2002 by collector Eugene Gomberg (Latvia) for £31,758.75 ($45,370.60). It is also considered to be the oldest postcard in the world.
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The oldest bottle of wine to have been sold at auction was a bottle of 1646 Imperial Tokay, which was bought by John A. Chunko of Princeton, New Jersey, USA and Jay Walker of Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA for SFr 1250 (£;405) including buyers premium at Sothebys, Geneva, Switzerland on 16 Nov 1984.
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The most expensive wine sold at auction is a Romanée Conti 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti bottle, sold at $558,000 (£422,801; €481,976) including premium, auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 13 October 2018.
The 73 year old French Burgundy bottle, part of a 600 batch produced by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, sold more than 17 times the original asking price of $32,000 (£24,246; €27,640). The mark up in the bottles value is suspected to be a result of Chinese market’s interest in French Burgundy. In addition, the bottle was sold by Robert Drouhin, patriarch of Maison Joseph Drouhin.
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A Batpod motorcycle used in the filming of The Dark Knight Rises (USA, 2012) sold at the 2016 Prop Store Live Auction by Prop Store (UK) on 27 September 2016 for £312,000 ($404,393).
The Batpod was the “hero” vehicle used for filming close-ups, meaning that it had more detail than others used for filming at long distance but is largely non-functioning. The motorcycle was designed by Christopher Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley, and brought to life by special-effects artist Chris Corbould, who made six of the vehicles. Its pre-auction estimate was between $80,000 and $110,000, so it secured about four times the expected price.
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