Fala Jane Freeman died peacefully at home on June 8. She was 77.

Fala was born the second of four children to Cedric and Jilma Freeman in La Ceiba, Honduras. At the age of seven, she moved with her family to northern New Jersey where she grew up. She first came to the Vineyard in the mid-70’s and stayed, finding home in the Island community for the remainder of her life.

She married Thomas Grew in 1979. In 1982, she gave birth to their son, Tristan. She worked for many years in retail and later got into real estate, working for numerous Island real estate offices before getting her brokers license and starting her own company, Lagoon Pond Realty. She was also an EMT for the Town Of Oak Bluffs during the late 80’s and early 90’s.

She grew proficient in gardening and was an accomplished cook. During the 1980’s, she was very involved in the early Island food cooperatives—from the Island Food Co-op, to Home Grown, to the Slow Food Movement. In recent years, Fala served on the Board of Assessors for the Town of Tisbury and was very active in the Vineyard Democratic Party.

She had a very adventurous spirit and many life highlights. including her trip around the world in the late 1990’s, many sailing trips up and down the New England coast and down to the Caribbean from the Vineyard.

She was a long-time dedicated and active member of Grace Episcopal Church, serving most recently as Junior Warden. Prior to that, Fala served on several church committees, not only contributing to Sunday after church lunches, but as a long-time volunteer for the church’s friday night lobster roll fundraiser during the summer months and at church community dinners in the off season.

She was a generous and thoughtful person who carried incredible ethics in business and loved her family and friends. She truly enjoyed long hours in her vegetable and flower gardens, daily swimming in the summer, cooking and hosting dinners and sauna nights for her friends and family and serving the Island community she had known and called home for almost 50 years. As a lifelong animal lover, her Yorkshire terrier, Bella, was her beloved companion and remained by her side until the end.

She is predeceased by her parents, her brother Peter (Anita) Freeman and her sister Janet (William) Houghton. She is survived by her loving son Tristan Grew of Vineyard Haven and California; her granddaughters Astraea and Aquinnah Grew of California and Minnesota; her brother Tony Freeman of Key West, Fla.; her niece, Claudia Freeman and nephews Peter and William Houghton; and many dedicated friends. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A memorial service will be held at Grace Church, later in the summer.