De Pillis, Freda M.

Freda Mae (Rustemeyer) De Pillis was born and raised on a farm outside Linn, Missouri; her parents were Fred and Julia (Bogler) Rustemeyer, and she had three sisters: Dorothy, Marcella, and Mary Ellen. She worked in Japan with the occupation forces of the U.S. Army, as a clerk in the Adjutant General's office, 1947-49.

Upon her return to the U.S., she attended the University of Chicago, earning a M.S.W. in 1954. While there, she met and married a fellow student, Mario S. De Pillis, who became a professor of history; they had three sons: Vincent, Mario, Jr., and Alexander. The family lived in Chicago, New Haven, Conn., and Berkeley, Calif., before settling in Amherst, Mass. De Pillis pursued her profession of social work in all these places.