Elyse Weasley-Freer

Beloved wife, friend, daughter, and sister Elyse Marie Weasley-Freer, died suddenly on Sunday, August 6, 2023 at the age of 38 from complications of a heart attack. She passed painlessly and quickly while on the phone with her beloved husband, James Roland Freer.

Elyse is survived by her husband Jim, dogs Waffles and Dobby, cats Mackers and Momo, mother Linda Pancheri, sister Emily, Washing Well Wench show partners, fellow Yogis, and truly countless friends and fans from all over the United States. Elyse is preceded in death by her beloved friend Meghan LaRocca (2011), and by mother figure Joyce Termini (2022).

Elyse was born to human parents (she was not the creation of Jim Henson as we had all guessed) on September 24, 1984, in Hammond, Indiana, and was raised in Lowell, Indiana. After graduating from Andrean High School in 2003, Elyse studied Theatre at Loyola University of Chicago (class of 2008). With her variety of remarkable talents, one would expect Our Pasty Lady of Perpetual Sunscreen to be Cinderella-step-sister level egotistical, but she was the exact opposite. Elyse was a triple threat (if you consider being kind, being generous, and shouting, “I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT” to be threats).

Once she graduated, Elyse moved to Chicago, and after the devastating death of one of her best friends, Meghan, Elyse turned to yoga as a way to find healing and solace. Her success on this journey fueled a desire to give others the same peace, and she taught for over a decade in Chicago and Atlanta. She established Evalesco Yoga, a practice that would bring her particular brand of aggressive inclusivity to grateful clients all over the United States. Equally spiritual and irreverent, she worked to teach people that Yoga is helpful to anyone and everyone, and that poses get a lot harder if you are laughing while you hold them.

Elyse also found a career, community, and the love of her life through Renaissance Festivals. She began in traditional Elyse fashion: two years peddling raunchy, booze-fueled comedy with the Bristol Pub Crawl before adeptly transitioning to peddling raunchy, booze-fueled comedy with acclaimed national act The Washing Well Wenches. As much as Elyse loved to make her audience laugh, her true pride was making her peers laugh, and she was proud a lot. Elyse’s unquenchable energy refocused and inspired everyone she shared a stage with, and while the community is worse without her, it is better because of her.

Elyse loved her husband Jim with every fiber of her being. They were married in January 2023 and although their time together was too short, the impact of their love resonates throughout all who know them.

Elyse would want everyone to celebrate, drink, be vulgar and be sweaty. Elyse would want everyone to belt a show tune, and to know that “holes is holes”. Elyse would want everyone to know that she loves you, and that you are perfect.
You can love me best by letting hands touch hands,
And by letting go of children that need to be free.
Love doesn’t die, people do.
So when all that is left of me is love,
Give me away
-Merrit Maloy, Meditations before Kaddish

A public memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 2:30pm at the Newhart Family Theater located at 1020 W Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60660. See the evite for more information: http://evite.me/DjZ1p4AfzE. In lieu of flowers, please send donations via our GoFundMe. All donations will go towards paying for Elyse’s memorials and cremation, as well as giving her husband a few months of living expenses so that he can get through this profoundly difficult time.