Antonia McCormack

The Love of My Life Antonia McCormack By: Jim McCormack Antonia C. McCormack, 80, of Sun City West, Arizona passed away August 6, 2014 from a series of illnesses including cancer. Antonia was born February 10, 1934 in Itaverava, Brazil one of ten children to Henvique and Geralda De Carvalho. She had many fond memories of growing up with all of her siblings on her father’s farm. In her fathers house there was a chapel where on special occasions the priest would come in to celebrate Mass, such as the time one of her sisters got married in the chapel and Antonia along with her others sisters helped in planning the celebration. As a student in high school her favored subjects were history and geography. She loved studying about her home country and was fascinated by the history of the USA and hoped to one day visit, that dream was fulfilled in 1962. She left Brazil along with her children from her first marriage settling in Boston, Massachusetts. It was in Boston that she met her husband Jim. She enjoyed her career as a saleswoman at one of the large department stores in downtown Boston, as she loved to help and meet new people everyday. She enjoyed her hobby as a skilled seamstress designing and sewing most of her own clothing, receiving high compliments from many. She also enjoyed gardening as she loved to see the flowers growing. Antonia and Jim loved traveling together around to all the lower 48 states to take in the beauty and history of each state. In her home state one of her favored holidays was the 4th of July, she loved watching the fireworks go off at the Boston Common. Some of the fun things she enjoyed doing was cheering for her Boston Red Sox and playing penny ante poker once a week with her friends. She was a very generous person the first items on her weekly shopping list was always food for the poor, but “don’t anyone mess with her jar of pennies, they were for poker and poker night only”. Antonia and her husband Jim came to Arizona in 1994 for the warm weather, she would say “this is Paradise until we get to the real one”. She was preceded in death by her mother Geralda De Carvalho, father Henvique De Carvalho, brothers Nosin, Zezico and Geraldo, also sisters Irma and Marisa. She is survived by her husband James McCormack of Sun City West, AZ; her daughter Lecia Bracaglia and her husband Frank of Stoneham, MA, daughter Leticia Dutra of Malden, MA; son Marcos Dutra and his wife Sylvia of Melrose, MA. She was the beloved grandmother of Marc Anthony, Stephanie, and Tania Dutra of Melrose, MA. Her brothers Ildeu and Helvecio and sisters Ivone and Maria Marta of Brazil also survive. A Rosary service will be held at 9:30 a.m. with the funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 19002 N. 128th Ave., Sun City West, AZ. Interment service to follow at 2:00 p.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, P.O. Box 13600, Phoenix, AZ 85002 www.st.vincentdepaul.net LOVE YOU. GO WITH GOD. MY DARLING.