Marshall Edgar Freedman, 28, a Dresher native, dies in fall on Oahu

Marshall Edgar Freedman, 28, a Dresher native and Germantown Academy graduate, was living his dream as a manager for Cheesecake Factory's restaurant in the Waikiki section of Honolulu, where he lived.

He had just been promoted to another management job at a Cheesecake Factory in Kapolei, about 20 miles away.

On Thursday, June 1, the final day of his vacation, he and six coworkers went for a hike on the steep, narrow Papali Hiking Trail in Oahu's Punaluu Valley.

The weather was fair. At 2:38 p.m., an exultant Mr. Freedman texted his family that he was "on top of the mountain."

It would be the last they heard from him. By 6:50 p.m., a fierce thunderstorm had engulfed the hikers in fog and torrential rain. Mr. Freedman left the group to explore the pathway ahead.

"Marshall gave his jacket to a girl who was freezing," his father, Jay, said. "He went out to scout the trail 25 or 30 feet ahead, and I think he took a misstep or got lost. They did hear a cry for help."

Rescuers from the Honolulu Fire Department were so hampered by the storm that they couldn't recover Mr. Freedman's body until the following morning. He had fallen 300 feet from the trail's edge to his death, a fire official said. Coroner  Rachel Lange ruled the death as accidental, and the cause as blunt impact to the head.

"I feel like he had so much to give and he was taken so soon," his father said. One slight consolation lay in the fact that his father and mother, Susan K. Leander, had just flown out from their home in Dresher to see their son, who was due to turn 29 on June 7.

"We were very fortunate that we were able to see him in that time frame," his father said. "As terrible as it was, there were no words left unspoken, nothing left unsaid. I am sad I won't be at his wedding or holding his children, but he knew his mom would be out there in six weeks to help him get his new apartment set up."

The Cheesecake Factory Inc., based in California, issued a statement saying, "He was a valued member of our team and will be sorely missed."

Born in Abington and reared in Dresher, Mr. Freedman attended Germantown Academy, where he excelled in the study of foreign languages. He was fluent in Japanese and Spanish, and spoke passable Mandarin and Korean, his father said.

An outstanding student athlete, he played water polo, both at Germantown Academy and later at George Washington University in the nation's capital. He attended college on athletic and academic scholarships, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Japanese language and literature.

After college, he took nine months of training with Cheesecake Factory in Philadelphia before moving to Hawaii in 2011. He waited tables and in 2013 was promoted to front-of-the-house manager at the Waikiki restaurant. A colleague of 10 years described him online as "always engaged with coworkers, asking them if there is anything he can help with, or being someone that can simply listen when no one else would."

"He loved interacting with guests in their native language, traveling, learning new cultures and languages, and enjoying all kinds of food," his father said.

Domenick Barbo, a native New Yorker who lived and worked with Mr. Freedman in Hawaii from 2011 until 2015, said the two bonded instantly as fellow East Coasters "in the middle of the Pacific Ocean" and as enthusiasts of Japanese language and culture.

Within minutes of meeting people from other cultures, Mr. Freedman could find common ground, Barbo said. "He connected with people at the deepest level. He saw past barriers – racial, cultural, linguistic."

He inspired those around him, Barbo said. "He was a natural-born leader and got a lot of joy out of it. He guided, led, and walked side by side with those who were with him. That quality of leadership, as a friend, was something I really cherished."

He enjoyed water polo, the outdoors, and amateur filmmaking, including a documentary on a hostess at his restaurant. On the strength of the film and her work ethic, she won the company competition for top hostess. "He was very proud of her," his father said.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by a brother.

Services were Sunday, June 25.

Donations may be made to the Marshall Edgar Freedman Memorial Trust Fund, TD Bank, 2900 W. Moreland Rd., Willow Grove, Pa. 19090.