Maria was the daughter of the late Quintiliano and Adelina Goncalves. She was born on October 29, 1928 in the small town of Maria Da Cruz, Fogo, Cabo Verde.
She was united in marriage to Jose Gregorio Fontes (ZeZe) in 1948. Jose preceded her in death on October 10, 2014.
Maria immigrated to the United States in 1968, where she set down new roots with her husband in Scituate, MA. She was a homemaker for most of her life, working for good families along the way; her employers became some of her closest friends.
In 1985, Maria and Jose opened their hearts and welcomed their daughter Gilda into their family. She quickly became the center of their world.
Maria was active in her faith from a young age in Cabo Verde. It was no surprise that she would dedicate her time and efforts to help in creating a Catholic Cape Verdean organization in her hometown of Scituate. She served as the President of the Cape Verdean Community of Scituate for over 10 years. During her time as President, she worked to bring unity to the Cape Verdeans in Scituate through various faith initiatives. She also continued to help raise funds for her home church in Cabo Verde.
Maria loved cooking, quilting, knitting, crocheting, sewing, and gardening. There’s nothing she tried that she didn’t master. She put her whole heart into whatever she made, and it showed. She opened her home and table to anyone and everyone. You could never leave her home without a full belly and a smile. But her biggest loves were her three grandchildren, Evangeline, Colette, and Valerie. There were no rules when it came to her girls. She smiled the most with them, teaching them to speak her native language, to bake, and how to make her specialty, “pastel.” There were always late-night games of chase and watching the Jefferson reruns. These were her favorite moments with her granddaughters.
Maria is survived by her loving daughter, Gilda Fontes and her husband John Fontes of Scituate; granddaughters Evangeline, Colette, and Valerie Fontes; her sister and best friend Idalina Barbosa (Jose Miguel Barbosa (deceased)); numerous devoted nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and cousins.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday May 5, 2021 from 9am-10am at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, 382 First Parish Road, Scituate. A funeral mass will follow at 10:30am from St. Mary of the Nativity Church, 1 Kent Street, Scituate.
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