Alexandre Ferreira

Alex Ferreira, lifelong Placer County resident, dairyman, rancher and elected official passed away peacefully at the age of 91, after a short hospital stay, at his home in Lincoln on July 18, 2017. Alex was born the second of three brothers to his father Domingo’s and his mother Maria. His family laid him to rest at the Newcastle Cemetery next to his parents and his older brother Edward on July 21, 2017. Alex’s deep rural roots can be traced back to the his birth on April 5, 1926 at home in Ophir; to his nearby family ranch on Wise Road; to his two-room Gold Hill Grammar School house where he graduated from 8th grade with only two other classmates in 1940. He, along with several of his farm kid friends walked across neighbor’s land to catch the school bus to attend Lincoln High School, where he graduated in 1944. Just after graduating from high school, Alex joined the United States Army (1st Calvary). During his WWII Military Service he rose to the rank of Mater Sergeant before returning to his home to start a dairy, a family and what was to become a decade’s long membership in many, many community originations, from the Son’s of the Golden West, Newcastle Grange, Lincoln Lyons Club to the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. His long record of public service began when Governor Pat Brown appointed Alex to the Gold County Fair Board. From an early age, Alex could see the development pressures facing the Placer Counties’ agricultural heritage and natural resources, especially the threats to and the increasing needs for water. In 1966, Alex was asked if he would fill a vacancy on the Nevada County Irrigation (NID) Board. Two years later, at the end of this appointment, Alex campaigned and was elected to the same NID Board seat. At that time, even Alex couldn’t know that he would go on to serve the residents of Placer County in this and many other elected positions for 60 years. Alex served as the District 2, Placer County Supervisor for 24 years starting in 1970. After his retirement from the Board of Supervisors, Alex served on the Placer County Water Agency from 1998 to 2013, when he again decided to retire and live near Lincoln. All in all, Alex’s 60 years of community service is represented through his mentorship of others, through his many campaigns, his hundreds of meetings all across the county and beyond, and his thousands of public addresses demonstrating devotion to local land conservation and statesmanship. Survived by: His brother, Joseph Ferreira, his loving wife Bonnie, sons Dan and Rich, daughter Connie, step-daughter Bobbi and step-son Bert. Alex’s family also includes ten grand-children and six great grand-children. Starting at 2:00pm on August 20, 2017, Alex’s family and friends are hosting a Celebration of his Life at Gladding McBean Park Pavilion (61 McBean Park Drive) in Lincoln. Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to the Placer Land Trust and or the Sutter Care at Home Hospice.