Elizabeth A. Freitas

The third of five daughters, Liz was born on May 20,1943 in Merced CA to Mary Sai Freitas and Frank Richard Freitas, and passed away on September 30, 2025 due to lung cancer.

Liz' life can best be summed up as a life lived selflessly devoted to serving her community of family, friends, and the greater public.

She showed this early commitment to public and community service by volunteering for VISTA in the late 1960's as a Community Housing Organizer.

She continued this commitment to public service by obtaining a BS in Applied Behavioral Science at UC Davis. In her pre-professional career she worked in youth services in Sacramento. Her professional career began with a seven-year sojourn with Child Protective Services in Merced County. There, working in conjunction with law enforcement, she developed strategies for reducing trauma in the management of child sexual abuse cases and domestic violence cases. She was often called upon to provide expert witness testimony in child sexual abuse cases.

Liz continued to further her education and training by earning a Master's in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley and then becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her professional focus transitioned to mental health and she began working for the Merced County Department of Mental Health where she again pioneered and helped develop assessment and treatment protocols for adolescents and families. She maintained a modest private practice as well.

In the later years of her career, she moved into management, overseeing various departments in the Merced County Department of Mental Health. She broadened her community outreach by leading workshops, training new social workers, teaching at Merced College, and serving as an adviser to the School of Social Work at CSU-Stanislaus.

Throughout her life she maintained close ties with family, friends and co-workers. In the words of her niece, Carla Reilly Bond, "Liz was a source of strength, not only for members of her family, but for those with whom she worked who were in need of support. Fiercely loyal, she was the person you could always turn to in times of trouble; a true port in a storm. Having no children of her own, she became a second mother to her nieces and nephew, and her loss will be mourned by them and by everyone she loved and who loved her." Her nurturing spirit extended beyond her family to others. She was also seen as "second mother" to other children in her orbit.

Liz had many other talents outside of her passion for community service and her nurturing spirit. She was clever and creative which she expressed via her artwork and her craftwork. As the only mechanically inclined and "handy" sister, her skills were often called upon to provide assistance in times of need.

Liz was preceded in death by her parents, sister Lucinda Reilly, niece Trisha Reilly, and brother-in-law, Alan Vando. Liz is survived by her sisters, Rosemary Vando, Frances Freitas and Francine Freitas, nephew Michael Reilly, nieces Carla Reilly Bond (Pete) and Jessica Vando (Tim). Her great nephews Zachary and Nathaniel Vando-Milberger and Michael's stepsons, Eric and Mike Silveria and their families also mourn her loss. Her second family, Jill Mayer and daughter Dayra Maye (Melinda) and Sue and David Norris and family are also greatly grieved by her death.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice that reflects her commitment to social justice and mental health issues, especially those organizations helping children and families.

A funeral Mass will be held November 8,2025, at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1066 26th Street, Sacramento, at 11am. Reception to follow at Hyatt House, 2719 K Street, Sacramento.