Jon R. Freitas

Jon R. Freitas, 76, of Ipswich, passed away on January 15, 2023 from complications of pancreatic cancer.

Jon was born September 17,1946 in Gloucester where he was raised by his grandparents John D. Knowles and Florence (Grant) Knowles. He graduated from Gloucester High in 1964, and from Hawthorne College with a Bachelor of Science in business. Jon had a long career at Heatilator Fireplace as a Regional SalesManager. Later in life he got a certificate in financial planning and continued playing the Stock Market.

Jon was always involved with sports, as a participant, coach or fan. As a youth he played baseball and hockey. As an adult he coached Gloucester and Ipswich Little League and Ipswich Youth Soccer. Every Sunday you could find Jon on the diamond, playing in the Over Thirty Softball League. He spent years playing tennis with his doubles partner Bill Bell and could be quite a terror on the courts. As a grandparent he was a fan of whatever soccer team his granddaughter Katelyn played for. He never missed one of her games starting with Youth Soccer all the way through Ipswich High School. Most of her teammates referred to him as "Grampy"and you could hear him at every game yelling "play tough girls." He enjoyed cheering for all of the Boston teams and especially the Women's National Soccer Team. During his retirement he spent a lot of time trying to have the winning fantasy league teams. Jon loved to travel before becoming ill and visited many countries with family and friends. He loved nothing more than spending the day at the beach and escaping winters in Florida.

Jon is survived by "his girls", wife of fifty-two years Elizabeth(Fenton) Freitas, daughter Sara Freitas Brown and granddaughter Katelyn Brown. He leaves siblings Eileen (Hutchins) Ferraro of NH, Laurie (Hutchins) Fenton of Gloucester and Mark Hutchins of FL, as well as many nieces and nephews and lifelong friends. He was predeceased by his parents Elizabeth (Knowles) Hutchins and Raymond Freitas Jr., his in-laws Paul and Susan (Maguire) Fenton, his brother-in law Tom Fenton, and his beloved nephew Michael Fenton.

Visiting hours will be 4 to 7pm on Sunday January 29 at the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home, 6 High Street, Ipswich. Family and friends are respectfully welcomed. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Cancer Research Institute www.cancerresearch.org