Mr. Agostinho De Jesus Nogueira

Obituary

Agostinho De Jesus Nogueira passed away on October 18, 2023 surrounded by his loving family.

He was born on January 1, 1934 in Azabucho, a small village in Leiria, Portugal.

His fulfilling life included a marriage of 66 years to his sweetheart, Ermelinda Pereira Gaspar, at the age of 24.

From the early to mid-sixties, he spent a sojourn in France in a small city outside of Paris for almost 5 years and worked at Citroen where he developed an interest in cars. At the time, he took joy in travelling at least once a year to Portugal to visit his wife and young daughter, Ermelinda Maria, who missed him terribly.

His wife encouraged him to immigrate to Canada with hopes that they would have a better life together.  With the sponsorship of his wife's sister, Laura, and her husband, Manuel, they came to Toronto in 1966 in the midst of the first of many snowstorms they would experience.

Soon after arriving, he brought his automotive skills to Canadian Tire at their location near Yonge Street in Toronto.

From there, he successfully built a life that in 1969 brought the birth of his younger daughter, Annabella.

Agostinho was most satisfied when he was tending to his urban vegetable garden on Markham Street as well as the garden belonging to his older daughter and son-in-law, Patrick.

His retirement at the age of 55 did not stop him from living a full, active life.  This new stage of his life offered him further opportunities to help his family and spend time with his grandchildren.

He was a friend and a chauffeur to all, driving grandchildren, Nathaniel, Rachel, Madeleine, Evan, and Catarina and their friends to countless after school activities. Spending time with his grandchildren brought him the most joy.

Summers in Portugal with his extended family was another source of happiness. There, he spent much time in a similar role, driving his elderly mother, sisters, and brothers in his 1980 Peugeot 205 to the beach, lunches, and other excursions.

Undoubtedly, his greatest pride was his family consisting of his two daughters, sons-in-law, Patrick and Amilcar, and his five beloved grandchildren.

Agostinho was always there for his family. He participated in every holiday, birthday, graduation, and all other family celebrations and milestones. As soon as one celebration had concluded, he would ask when the next family get-together would be. He was always ready to share a glass of his homemade wine with good company.

In addition to his family and gardening, Agostinho was passionate about his favourite hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He arrived in Canada to experience the Leafs win their last Stanley Cup in May 1967. He's been waiting ever since for another championship that, unfortunately, never came to fruition. Keep cheering for those Leafs from above, Dad.

Agostinho will be happy to know that he is lovingly remembered by his family, and all his friends whose lives he touched through his words and gestures of affection.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the cardiac team at Toronto General Hospital for their determined efforts, kindness, and care.

The visitation for Agostinho will be held at Cardinal Funeral Home on Sunday, October 22, 2023 from 3 to 8 p.m. The funeral mass will be held at St. Agnes Church Roman Catholic Church, 15 Grace Street, Toronto on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.  Interment will be at Prospect Cemetery, 1450 St. Clair Avenue West.

In honour of Agostinho's memory, the Nogueira family kindly requests that instead of sending flowers, you consider donating to the Magellan Community Foundation.

The Magellan Community Foundation is dedicated to providing seniors with high-quality and culturally sensitive care for the aging members of Portuguese-Canadian communities. To make a donation, please click here or copy and paste this link into your web browser: https://mcf.akaraisin.com/ui/donate/donations/start

Visitation

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Entombment