Francisco Ferreira Leitao

NEW BEDFORD — Francisco "Frank" Ferreira Leitao, 95, of New Bedford, passed away after a brief illness at the New Bedford Health Care Center on Monday, December 22, 2008. He was the husband of Angelina (Ferreira) Leitao and they recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

He was born in Estreito da Calheta, Madeira, the son of the late Maria (de Jesus) and Francisco Ferreira Leitao. He lived in Madeira for the first thirty-three years of his life working as a farmer and as a stonemason apprentice to his uncle, Roberto.

He came to New Bedford in 1946 and has resided in the city ever since. He was first employed at the Soule Mill and later at Berkshire-Hathaway. He also worked in landscaping and continued to work as a stonemason well into his eighties.

Mr. Leitao was a long time member of Club Sport Madeirense and Club S. S. Sacramento and served on its Board of Directors for a number of years. He was a very dedicated parishioner of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church.

In Madeira, his sisters, Maria, Conceicao, Rosa and brother, Manuel, predeceased him.

He is survived by his wife, Angelina; two sons, Manuel and his wife, Charlene, of Wayland and Anthony of New Bedford; a granddaughter, Jennifer and her husband, Russell Jackson of Sudbury; a grandson, Matthew of Wayland; a great-grandson, James of Sudbury; his brothers-in-law, Luiz Coutinho of New Bedford, Manuel Ferreira of Windsor, CT; a sister-in-law, Ester Ferreira of Johannesburg, South Africa; and many nieces and nephews.

Visiting hours Friday 4 to 7 PM at the CABRAL-BAYLIES SQUARE-LAMOUREUX FUNERAL HOME, 512 No Front Street, New Bedford. Funeral Saturday at 9 AM at the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM in Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church. Burial will follow at Pine Grove Cemetery.

Handicapped accessible and lighted parking at the rear of funeral home.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Scholarship Fund, Club S. S. Sacramento, 50 Madeira Avenue, New Bedford, MA 02746.