GEORGETOWN – Jane Freeberg died on May 10, 2019, a few weeks shy of her 86th birthday. A longtime resident of Georgetown, she had moved to Bath several years ago, and to White River Junction, Vt. earlier in the month.

Jane grew up in Queens, N.Y., where she met her husband, Ernest Freeberg II. They married in 1954, and a year later she graduated from Adelphi College with a degree in English. After living in the Philadelphia and Boston area, they moved to Maine in 1977, and Georgetown five years later.

Jane loved people, loved to entertain, loved to laugh. She was the enthusiastic motivator of her family, happiest when planning dinner for a group or organizing a project. No project gave her more satisfaction than working with Ernest to renovate their house on Robinhood Cove, the work of many years. She planted their flower garden, painted pictures of Maine for their walls, and never stopped being grateful for the beauty of the coast. She made lifelong friends in Georgetown, and considered her years there the best in a long and happy life.

The community of Georgetown sustained her, and she loved to do her part. Among her many labors of love, she organized suppers for the Five Islands Baptist Church, and served as president of the Working League. When she had the energy and the resources, she was generous in taking care of others. In turn, as she aged, she appreciated all the kindness and support she received from friends and neighbors. A devoted wife, mother and grandmother, she delighted in helping them, too. That meant making sure her slow-moving husband made it to church on time, especially when he became the pastor; sewing dresses for her granddaughter and building a toy castle for her grandson; even hand-painting Grateful Dead tee-shirts for her college-age sons, though no fan of Jerry Garcia herself.

In her later years, chronic pain forced her to give up many of the pleasures she found in work. She would mutter over the sight of weeds in her garden bed, (or anyone else’s), and long for the days when she could get on her knees and pluck them.

In her last days, she declared that a full and satisfying life is one that is rich with stories. Married for 64 years, she and Ernest loved to share tales of family lore— about a Swedish blacksmith and a New York City policeman, a flapper and a Long Island deer poacher, and a melting pot of immigrant families in their Queens neighborhood. The last survivor from her family’s generation, she spent the last year of her life writing some of these down, lest they be lost.

In 2009, she wrote a story that had been told to her years earlier by a friend, about her family’s experience with a New England scallop harvest. That turned into The Scallop Christmas, published by Islandport Press, which won two children’s book awards, including the Lupine Honor Award from the Maine Library Association. Having published her first book so successfully at the age of 76, she regretted not getting into the writing business sooner.

She found meaning in stories in other ways. She helped to found many book clubs, including the Georgetown Book Club that continues today, and served for many years on the Laura E. Richards Library board, and as co-librarian. She was proud of helping to start the library’s “blizzard books” program, and looked forward every year to the library’s summer book sale. She relished words, left behind many books of completed crossword puzzles, and among many other gifts to her sons, she passed on a love of books.

Jane is survived by two sons, Ernest III and Bruce; daughters-in-law, Lauren Bray and Mandy Lape-Freeberg; and three grandchildren, Charles Bray, Emma Freeberg, and Caleb Freeberg.

A memorial service will be held at Five Islands Baptist Church, Saturday, June 1, at 1 p.m.