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NINDS's Freas Retires After 36 Years of Federal Service, All with NIH

By Shannon E. Garnett

Nan Freas, administrative officer in the Clinical Neuroscience Program of the Division of Intramural Research (DIR), NINDS, recently retired after more than 36 years of federal service — all with NIH.

At the age of 18, and 1 year out of high school, Freas first came to NIH as a secretary in the General Medicine Branch of NCI in 1956. "I fell in love with NIH right away and have always considered it an honor to work here," she said. "While I am not a scientist, I have hoped that doing my job well has allowed the scientists more time for their research."

Nan Freas After taking 11 years off to care for her three children, Freas returned to NCI in 1974 as secretary and later became an administrative technician in NCI's Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology under chief Dr. Robert Gallo in 1988. She joined the NINDS family in 1990 as administrative officer in the DIR, NINDS. In retirement, Freas plans to spend more time with her children and grandchildren and to increase her volunteer activities at the Del Ray Club in Bethesda.

"I arrived as a teenager and am leaving as the grandmother of nine. And, there have been many beautiful memories along the way," she said. "The song, 'I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World' pretty much sums it up."