Jose "Joe" Vieira Viula

A vigil for Jose will be held Tuesday, February 15, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Fairhaven Memorial Services, 27856 Center Drive, Mission Viejo, CA. A a funeral mass will occur Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 10:30 AM at St. Kilian Catholic Church, 26872 Estanciero Drive, Mission Viejo, CA, immediately followed by a burial service that will occur Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 12:00 PM at El Toro Memorial Park, 25751 Trabuco Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630. A reception for after the burial will occur Wednesday, February 16, 2022 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, 27856 Center Drive, Mission Viejo, California 92692.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.fairhavenmemorialservices.com for the Viula family.

Livestream of the Funeral Mass will be live on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 10:30am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdaWqtL5UsI

Jose Vieira Viula, born on December 2, 1921, passed away peacefully on February 6, 2022 at 100 years, 2 months and 4 days of age.

Born on the small and quaint seaside town of Machico on the beautiful Island of Madeira, Portugal, located in the Atlantic Ocean about 600 miles southwest of Portugal, he led a long and quite interesting life of many interests and accomplishments and learned early in life the importance of family that was instilled in him and his three brothers by his amazing parents.

Jose was very religious and looked forward to joining his wife, Alda, of 64 years; 68 years total together.

As a little boy, his family moved to the island’s main city of Funchal, a large hustling and bustling metropolitan city where his father was the Head of Customs for Madeira and that until several years ago held the Guinness Book of World Records title for many years for the largest display of New Years fireworks. Famous for Madeira Wine, gorgeous and lush flowers and high mountains that literally reach up to the heavens, Madera Island is also the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo, the world-renown Soccer Football player.

He Married in the middle of the night at 3 am at the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Socorro (Church of Our Lady of Help) in Funchal, Madeira where, as an 8-10 year old boy, he had the job of ringing the church bells in the church tower. Later he worked as a teenager in sales for a sandwich shop of sorts that also was a purveyor of meets to the major hotels among other clients.

In 1945, Jose and wife decided to head for Boston, Massachusetts in the United States by boat where at the time it was considered a great place to be for work, advancement and raising a family although other than being an island unto itself, Madeira was a wonderful place too. So much so that pretty much anyone who knew him throughout his life and even in his final years, knew all about the wonders of Madeira because he constantly talked about how Madeira was the jewel of the earth and its natural wonders. He, his wife and family took many vacations in Madeira visiting family and friends over the years and he even went there in his 90’s on each of 3 of his last 7 years. His last trip was January 2019.

In the United States he worked 33 years for New England Casket company where he became foreman early on and then manager of manufacturing and pretty much was responsible for automating the factory in such a way that caskets arrived at various stations of construction on conveyor tracks.

As manager he was responsible for hiring but what you should know, bless his heart, is that he hired a number of individuals for the sole purpose of helping them; even when there were no openings and they were not needed. He was resourceful and compassionate and worked hard all his life. And he enjoyed it. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

He retired at the age of 62 but worked part-time for a division of Bausch & Lomb where he worked two days per week supporting the head of the company. They quickly recognized his value in terms of plant logistics and policies that they had him attend executive meetings regularly. And, though it is typical to hold pizza parties in the company cafeteria for employees that are leaving, they gave him a wonderful banquet at a hotel ballroom. During this period, he also worked part time fixing wood frames for Chelsea Clock, a famous manufacturer of precision clocks who supplied the ships bell clocks to the ships of the U.S. Navy since 1934.

In 1995, Jose and wife move to Mission Viejo, California where he enjoyed retirement in the gated community of Casta Del Sol, a community of single-family homes for those 55 years of age and older. There he enjoyed living the good life with his wife and son Joe who lived nearby. He was active with various community groups, swimming, shuffleboard, bocce ball, walking his beloved dog Jackie, and conversing with his pals at the community center.

Jose is survived by his daughter Nelia V. Dunleavy; son Joseph M. Viula; son John (Jackie) Viula; daughter Maria (Rich) Haynes; grandchildren William Stuart, Timothy (Jessica) Stuart, Lisa (Matthew) Kassa, Jeremy (Aarika) Viula, Elisha (Steven) Ray, Genie(Travis) Hanson, Jennifer (Dave) Krause, Stacey (Chris) Jessen, Michael(Lisa) Viula, Crystal(Sean) Moser, Melanie(Chris) Davis, Colin Viula, Joshua(Libby) Viula, Christina (Dan) Woodbury, Steve (Stacey Solano) Haynes, Jessica (Scott) Mearls; and 34 great grandchildren, and the many wonderful and endearing relatives and friends on Madeira Island and throughout the world. He is missed.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents Jose Vieira Viula and Christina Candia, Jose Bettencourt and Rosa Do Nasciment; his parents João and Elisa Viula; his brothers Manuel, João, Sidonio; and his loving wife Alda.