MARIA DUARTE
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother Maria Duarte. Mom was born on the island of Pico in the Azores, Portugal on October 9,1930. She grew up and married her husband Jose there. They had two sons Joe and Manuel before immigrating to Canada in 1959. The family settled first in Ontario but soon moved to Nakusp BC and then Castlegar . Castlegar was home for the rest of her life except for a short period in 1968 and 1969 that the family went back to Ontario and Portugal. It was in Castlegar that her third son Fernando was born.
Mom was a very hard worker and worked hard all her life inside and outside the home. She had many different jobs over the years including working at a bakery, restaurant and a factory. In her last job she worked in housekeeping at the Castlegar Hospital which she really enjoyed.
When she retired Mom became very involved in her church. She especially loved looking after the flowers at St. Rita’s. For many years she grew flowers in her garden for the church. She was very religious all her life and had a deep belief that her God would help her overcome any difficulty.
Mom was really proud to get her drivers license which she got when she was over 50. She liked to drive her car everywhere and was always ready to give rides to her friends to church and other appointments. She always remembered what is was like not having a car and did her best to help people.
Our mother fought a brave battle with cancer but on March 21 she went to join her beloved son Manuel. She is survived by sons Joe (Maria) and Fernando (Denise) , grandsons Mario (Celina) and Paul and a great grandson Mateus. She is also survived by a sister Francisca in Canada and two brothers Joao and Manuel in Portugal and many nieces and nephews.
We would like to thank the staff at Talarico Place and Dr. Merritt for their excellent care while she was at Talarico. Also we would like to thank Dr. Larocque for his care as her family doctor.