Robert A. Ferreira

Robert A. Ferreira of Acushnet, known by everyone as “Bob,” passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at St. Luke’s Hospital, at the age of 82. He was the husband of Diane (Gerwatowski) Ferreira, to whom he had been married for 57 years.

Born in New Bedford, the son of the late Antone Ferreira and the late Leona (Peters) Lizotte, he graduated from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School. He was a United States Air Force Veteran.

In addition to his wife, Bob is survived by his two children, Robert A. Ferreira Jr. and his wife Betsy of Acushnet, and Sherry (Ferreira) St. Jean and her husband Robert of Acushnet; three grandchildren, Kayla Ferreira, Zachary Ferreira, and Kyle St. Jean; and two great-granddaughters, Jacklynn, and Paisley – and his little “fur baby” Lucy.

He also is survived by his brothers-in-law and their wives: Fred Gerwatowski & his wife Rosanne, and Ron Gerwatowski & his wife Kathleen.

Below is a heartfelt remembrance and tribute from his wife Diane:

Bob enjoyed life up to his last day. Most of all, he loved spending time with his family. He especially enjoyed visiting and going for a motorcycle ride with his son Robbie, or simply sitting by the fire pit at the house of his daughter Sherry, telling stories about the good old days. Just being with his kids made him very happy and put him at peace. Then came the grandkids, taking them on camping trips when they were young, and watching them grow up to become adults. And he loved spending time with his two great granddaughters. He was so proud of them all.

Bob spent many years riding on one of his many motorcycles – from dirt bikes to his favorite Harley Davidson. When he was going for rides with me (Diane) or with a group of bikers, he was very happy.

Along with his Harley, he had his Corvettes. Through the years he owned six of them. The last one was automatic, because he just got too tired of shifting.

One of his favorite past times was playing his guitar. He not only played guitars, but – as his nephew David would say – “he was a guitar collector.” Unlike his ownership of Corvettes that he had one at a time, he acquired and accumulated a large collection of eleven guitars, one ukulele, and a banjo.

He loved jamming on many Mondays and Fridays with his musician friends, Paul, Rebel, John, Jerry, Jim, Bob & his wife Sharon, and the late Jim LaRose. After one of his jamming sessions, Bob came home and bragged to me that his wrist watch had recorded over 15,000 steps that day. As it turned out, the watch had just recorded 11,000 strums of the guitar.

Bob also was in “The Mill” breakfast club. Many mornings, he had to go meet the guys to talk about how they could solve the world’s problems. If only the world had listened to their sage advice . . . .

Bob was still going to the gym, even at 82 years old. It started at George’s gym in the south end of New Bedford at the age of 15, and it ended at the Fairhaven Rec Center. In recent years, he might not have been lifting and benching the heavier weights of his youth, but he was there doing his exercises. He had to go early so there was time for him to fit in his walking routine – during which he would walk a mile or two in the gym before the pickle ball players came in.

Bob loved his dogs, Mandi, Terra, Molly, Zoey, and – of course – now Lucy, who misses him very much. Whenever he came home, he would have to get down on his knees to greet little Lucy, then he would get her a cookie. She adored him. His favorite grand-dog was Abby, he would go over and throw the ball for her, over and over, and then come home and say we “needed” to get another lab. Such wishful thinking . . . . We had two labs already during our younger years when we could keep up with them. I vetoed that idea and just limited his aspirations to lap dog time. A Shih Tzu was just fine, and Bob was too!

Bob had many hobbies – too many to mention. He did not like sitting around and had to keep going all the time. Rainy days were the worst, how he hated them. He will be missed by not only his family, but by a lot of his old friends from every background. From camping friends, Corvette friends, biker friends, and the many town of Acushnet friends that he made over the years.

I was married to him for 57 years. It is hard to imagine living on this earth without him now. I love him so much!

Funeral and Visitation:

Bob’s Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 9:00AM in St. Mary’s Church, Main St., Fairhaven, followed by burial in Riverside Cemetery in Fairhaven. Relatives and friends are invited.

His Visitation will be held on Friday, August 9, 2024 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM in the Waring-Sullivan Home at Fairlawn, 180 Washington St., Fairhaven.

To place an online tribute or for directions, please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com