Herminia Furtado

Herminia Simão Furtado, a beloved mother, grandmother, great‑grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2026, at the age of 88, in Danbury, Connecticut. Born on March 3, 1938, in the Azores, Portugal, Herminia carried her Portuguese roots with pride throughout her life.

In 1956, Herminia immigrated to the United States, settling in Danbury, where she built a life centered on family, faith, and hard work. In 1960, she married the love of her life, Serafim Furtado. Together they shared 57 years of marriage filled with devotion, partnership, and enduring love, until Serafim’s passing in 2017. She was also pre-deceased by her son-in-law Grant Palinkas.

Herminia was blessed with a large and loving family. She was the proud mother of five children and cherished every moment spent with her 13 grandchildren and many great‑grandchildren, as well as her nieces and nephews. Her family was always at the heart of her life, and she took great joy in gathering loved ones together, nurturing them with warmth, generosity, and unwavering affection.

For many years, Herminia worked at Davis and Geck, retiring in 2000 after decades of dedicated service. Outside of work, she found happiness in simple pleasures—tending to her garden, crocheting blankets for her grandchildren, and spending time surrounded by those she loved most. She was a longtime and faithful parishioner of Saint Gregory’s Church in Danbury, where her faith remained a steady source of strength throughout her life.

Herminia will be remembered most for her kindness, her welcoming smile, and her deep love for her family. Her gentle presence and caring spirit left a lasting impression on all who knew her, and her love will continue to fill the hearts of her family each and every day.

She is survived by her sister, Maria; her children, Ilda Palinkas and Glenn Byxbee, Debbie Sousa and Mark Williams, Diane and Alex Piech, Dan and Stacy Furtado, and JR and Colleen Furtado; her grandchildren, Grant Jr., Jessica, Andrea, Evan, Marissa, Matt, Josh, Daniel, Taryn, Anthony, Diane Sousa, Alex, Sarah, Rob, Anna, Michael, Caitlin, Zach, Johnny, and Chelsea; and her great‑grandchildren, Mariah, Lya, Ella, Emery, Melody, Max, Nash, Noah, Ellie, and Riley.

While Herminia will be deeply missed by all who loved her, her legacy of love, compassion, and family devotion will live on through the generations she leaves behind.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Herminia’s in‑home caregiver, Teresa, for the love, compassion, and dedication she showed their mother, as well as to the nurses of the 8th floor at Danbury Hospital for the exceptional care and kindness they provided during a very difficult time.

Visitation will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026, from 9:30 - 11:30 AM at Green Funeral Home, 57 Main St., Danbury, CT. Religious service to be conducted at the funeral home at 11:30 AM.

Interment to follow at St. Peter Cemetery, 71 Lake Ave. Ext., Danbury. CT.