Hello Lynhal,

Welcome to the boards.

Dutch touch on a good way to germinate seeds and his point that they be kept dry for long term storage is spot on.

I have successfully germ seeds that were well over 10 years old, and the only issue was that fewer seeds poped then when the seeds were newer.
These seeds were keep in a mason jar with small desiccant packs and the jar vacuumed sealed. But were kept in a cool dark place.

Not sure what the effect of freezing will have had on them.

Good luck with them, it sounds like your friend left you something potentially good to remember him by.
OM