Joaquim J. Santos passed away on Friday, February 23, 2024, at the age of 84. Son of the late Jose Manuel & Julia Novata, Joaquim was born on March 7, 1939, in Cela Nova, Portugal. He was a retired mason for JJJ Concrete Corporation in Spring Valley, NY, and a member of the Carpenters Union.
Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife Elvira Silvestre Santos at home; son Abilio Inacio and his wife Myrna of Raleigh, NC; daughter Celia Maria Sawoska and her husband Joseph of Monroe, NY; brother Jose Inacio Manuel and his wife Graciete of Bronx, NY; sisters Odete Julia Agostinho of Queens, NY, and Maria Julia dos Santos of Portugal; five grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob, Tomas, David, and Joshua; and many nieces and nephews.
From the family: “While we mourn the loss of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, son and friend, we also celebrate the amazing life of this man with whom we were so fortunate to share. We will never forget the determination and strength it took to forge a new life for his family in America and his tireless work ethic even through chronic pain. We will always cherish his self-taught accordian and harmonica tunes, his comedic genius and storytelling, his booming laugh as he lived the joys of life, and most of all his caring heart to pay forward the kindness he was shown to the next generations of immigrants trying to achieve their American dream.”
Visitation: Tuesday, February 27, 2024, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush, Inc. Funeral Home, 117 Maple Avenue, Monroe, NY.
Funeral mass: Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 26 Still Road, Monroe, NY.
Interment: St. Anastasia Cemetery in Harriman, NY.
Arrangements were by Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush, Inc. Funeral Homes, Monroe, NY, 845-782-8185, ssqfuneralhome.com.