William Freitas

William R. "Bill" Freitas, Jr., 83, passed away on November 2, 2009 at his home in Chico, CA. He was born on December 12, 1925 in Oroville, CA to William R. "Roy" Freitas, Sr. and Julia Freitas. Bill attended Oroville area schools until dropping out of high school at age 17 to join the Navy in 1942. After service in the South Pacific, Bill was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of "Fireman First Class" He remained in the Naval Reserve until 1955. After returning from World War II, Bill worked in Oroville, for the railroad, before moving to the Greenville area and working for the Setzer's as a logger. It was in Greenville that Bill met Bea Bethune who was working at a soda fountain. They fell in love and were married on June 27, 1952. They moved to Feather Falls and Bill went to work at the sawmill. While working in the woods as a logger, Bill obtained more experience fighting fire, a skill he first honed in the Navy. In 1954, Bill went to work on the Beale Air Force Base Fire Department and worked there for three years before joining the Chico Fire Department in 1958. Bill spent 25 years with the Chico Fire Department, retiring with the rank of Captain, in 1983. Over the course of his career he studied Arson investigation and took numerous Fire Science courses at the college, always making the Dean's or President's list. In 2005, Bill was one of several veterans who received their high school diplomas from the Butte County Office of Education "Operation Graduation". Bill belonged to the Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge #111 and had been a mason for 55 years. During that time he had been a candidates coach, who taught new members the ritual work. Until his illness, he had been a regular member of the Lodge's morning Coffee Clatch and enjoyed solving the world's problems with his fellow members. He was a member of the Ben Ali Shrine and a Past President of the Chico Shrine Club. He logged thousands of miles transporting children to the Shriner's Hospital for 30 years. In the beginning, driving them to San Francisco, then to the new hospital in Sacramento. Bill was also a Royal Arch Mason and Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Chico Chapter of the Eastern Star. Bill was a avid hunter and gun enthusiast and taught hunter's safety for over 30 years. When his son joined the Cub Scouts, Bill went right along with him and volunteered countless hours to scouting, volunteering as an assistant leader and merit badge counselor for Firemanship, Safety, Riflemanship, Archery, Coin collecting, Stamp collecting and First Aid merit badges. He was selected by the then "Mount Lassen Area Council" to be a District Commissioner. During his life, in addition to being a full time Firefighter, he moonlighted for Jack Coulter at Coulter's Moving and Storage and Burtons Communications, installing Motorola Radios. Bill never put himself before his family and friends. His sense of humor and tireless work ethic are admired by his family and those who knew him well. He received countless awards for service over the course of his life, but never lost sight of the true reason he served. He was "Papa" to his family. Papa was a gift from God, and grew to love and know Jesus Christ as his savior. "Till we all meet again" He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Barbara Higgins of Oroville. He is survived by his wife and the love of his life, Bea Freitas of Chico; his son, John Freitas and daughter-in-law, Laurie Freitas of Durham; grandson, Nicholas Freitas and granddaughter- in-law, Tina Freitas of Virginia; grandson, John William Freitas and granddaughter- in-law, Kara Emry of San Francisco; grandsons, Jacob Freitas and Joseph Freitas and granddaughters, Elizabeth Freitas, Christina Freitas, Katherine Freitas, Mary Freitas and Isabella Freitas, all of Durham; and great-granddaughters, Lillyana Freitas and Alexandria Freitas and great-grandson, Luke Freitas, all of Virginia. Services will be held on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. at the Chico Masonic Famil Center, 1110 W. East Ave., Chico, CA. In lieu of flowers, Papa would want you to contribute to the Shriner's hospital for Children.