John Almeida

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Sabina (Marcuzzi) Almeida, his children Marcelo (Sonia Bortolin), Nelson (Sonia Correia), and his grandchildren Luca, Matteo and Layla.

John will be remembered as a devoted husband, loving father, and caring grandfather (“Vovo”) who was devoted to his family and loved every moment he spent with them. He exemplified humility and selflessness throughout his life, always placing the needs of others above his own. He bravely journeyed at a young age seeking a brighter future, from Macau to Hong Kong, through Portugal to Canada, becoming a proud Canadian in 1969. His love of books and reading led to him graduating from Ryerson with a journalism degree. His first job was with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, later passing a series of difficult exams to be hired at Immigration Canada. His strong work ethic, dedication and language abilities allowed him to work as a Canadian diplomat in various countries including Hong Kong and Portugal. He gave his family the gift of these global experiences, fostering many cherished memories and friendships. He was an active member of the Casa de Macau, where he valued the continuation of Macanese traditions and cherished time with many long-standing friends. His legacy is one of kindness, generosity, a thirst for knowledge, a love for quiet reading time, keeping abreast of all global current affairs, and a passion for continued learning. Even in retirement, apart from keeping his grandchildren on their toes, he did not stop his activities – donating time at St. Felix House soup kitchen, volunteering with Canadian Blood Services blood donor clinics, participating in weekly bowling league games and practicing Tai-Chi.

The family would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff of Gibson Long Term Care Home and North York General Hospital for their caring dedication towards John.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory can be made to Parkinson Canada (www.parkinson.ca), Chalice (www.chalice.ca) or a charity of your choice.

Visitation will be held at Kane-Jerrett Funeral Home in Thornhill on Wed. 21 Feb. 2024 between 2pm – 4pm and 6pm – 8pm. Funeral services will take place at Blessed Trinity Parish on Thurs. 22 Feb. 2024 at 10:30am.

Friends and family who may not be able to attend are welcome to join virtually through a livestream of the funeral service. For online condolences and livestream details please visit the Kane-Jerrett Thornhill website at www.kanejerrett-thornhill.ca.

To view the livestream please use this link: www.blessedtrinityparish.ca. This will take you to our webpage. When you get there click on the “Live Feed” button at the top right of the page. This will automatically scroll you down to the Live Feed area. Once there, click on "Livestreaming" on the left-hand side. The video will go live about 10 to 15 min before the funeral mass starts. Those who go onto the site and see no livestream are likely there before the 10 to 15min before the feed begins. Simply go back to the “live feed” and click on the button again closer to the start time of the funeral and the feed should come up on your screen.

A few notes:

*When the video launches hover your mouse over the lower left-hand part of the video screen on the webpage … there you will see a small speaker with an X beside it. Click on the speaker to enable the sound (the X will disappear) * Click on the box on the far-right hand side of the video screen on the webpage (“full screen”) and the picture will fill your entire screen *The volume of the sound is controlled from the computer/device you are on. You may need to increase the volume on their computer / device to hear things properly. *A computer is the best way to watch the broadcast. Cell phones and iPad do work - marginally, but (especially) older models can sometimes have limited or outdated technology that doesn’t always manage the sizable data that comes in with both audio and video broadcasting. An old computer can also have these issues… Also - we are broadcasting this over the internet, a system that has seen an incredible increase in use given the pandemic challenges. Potential streaming delays, frozen frames and so on do happen on occasion and unfortunately, we have no control over these situations. Further there can be delays or challenges with the internet feed in any number of neighbourhoods at anytime. Again, we have no control over this. Fortunately, they have been minimal, but we wanted you to be aware.