Jean (Macotsis) Preftes, 87, of Dumont, passed away peacefully on February 7, 2026.
Jean was born on September 28, 1938, in New York City to Olga (née Lekas) and Nicholas Macotsis. Jean’s life was profoundly shaped by the early loss of her father, her parents’ Greek culture and Orthodox faith, and her upbringing on 17th Street in New York City. After her father passed when she was two years old, she and her brother were raised by a fiercely proud single mother who worked as a seamstress, taking late lunch breaks to be present when her kids came home from school.
To know Jean was to know she was a proud New Yorker. The energy of the city pulsed through her veins. She was a product of New York’s public school and university system, earning an undergraduate degree in political science from Hunter College and returning later in life to obtain her master’s degree in social work. Weekends of her youth were spent exploring New York’s parks, museums, theater and music scene, passions she passed on to her children. Jean loved to recount how she would see Bob Dylan and other up-and-coming folk singers perform before they were famous at Café Wha? in Greenwich Village during the ‘60s.
Jean’s identity was also deeply rooted in her parents’ hometown of Drymades (Dhermi), Northern Epirus (presently Albania), the fabled village of exceptional beauty from which her parents emigrated. She had several opportunities to visit after Albania opened its borders, including in 2024 when, despite suffering from advancing Alzheimer’s Disease, she was able to show her grandchildren her parents’ village. It was a remarkable journey that will forever be cherished by her family.
For over 58 years, Jean and her husband Chris were a unified, loving, and enduring couple. Their first date was at the Delegates Lounge at the United Nations, where Jean worked as a secretary. Jean held down the fort while Chris, a 747 pilot, flew around the world. Travel was a shared passion, and they took their girls all over the world and the United States. The irony was not lost on the family that Jean, who loved to travel but hated to fly, married an airline pilot. For many years she was employed as a Social Worker for the Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC) in Astoria, NY.
Community was important to Jean. She was a great and devoted mother, grandmother, and friend to all. She truly knew no strangers. She celebrated every birthday and remembered every milestone. Jean especially thrived when someone she loved was in crisis – it was then that her profound empathy and training as a social worker would kick in. She was supportive and loving, a great listener who could offer words of wisdom and sage advice. She was active in her church as a Sunday School teacher and longtime Girl Scout leader and was an astute and prescient political observer. She regularly threw parties for 40+, spent hours making homemade spanakopita and baklava, and loved gardening and flowers.
Jean is survived by her beloved husband, Christe, and their two loving daughters, Lia and Katherine Preftes, son-in-law Chris Field, and her cherished grandchildren, Christian and Kaya Preftes Field. In addition, she leaves behind nieces Nicole Macotsis, Laura Preftes and Maria Preftes Arenz, cousin Mary Ann (Zuppas) O’Connor, her “third” daughter Debra Skeith, sister-in-law Suki Schorer, and many beloved grand nieces and nephews, cousins, godchildren, relatives, and friends. Jean was predeceased by her mother, father, and brother George Macotsis, as well as dear cousins Simos Dimas and Matthew Zuppas. Jean will be truly missed by her beloved family and friends.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 3-5PM and 7-9PM, at Frech-McKnight Funeral Home, 161 Washington Avenue, Dumont, NJ 07628.
Religious Service will be held on Thursday, February 12, 11AM, at The Metropolitan (Greek Orthodox) Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, 353 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly, NJ 07670. The service will be streamed on You Tube or Facebook via Stjohntenafly.org (at the bottom of the page). Jean will be laid to rest in Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.
Flowers are appreciated, as are donations in Jean’s memory to the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer’s Association.