Mr. Antonio Resendes

Obituary

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Antonio Raposo De Resendes, of Toronto, Ontario.  He passed away peacefully in the early morning of January 27^th, 2024, at the age of 94, due to complications of congestive heart failure.

Antonio was born on September 27, 1929, in Faial da Terra, Sao Miguel, the Azores. He was the 4th of 7 children. His early life as a farmer’s son was slow-paced and pastoral where farming and animal herding was a universal way of life. It would be far removed from the life in Toronto he would end up living.

He met his wife-to-be as a youth when she and her sisters were visiting his town for a festa. Antonio always swore that the first time he saw her, he heard a clear voice out of nowhere say to him, ‘She will be the mother of your children’- but it would take another decade before he asked for her hand in marriage. Antonio immigrated to Canada in 1957 on board the ocean liner MS Vulcania, but returned to Sao Miguel to marry Maria da Conceicao on July 2, 1961, and brought her back to Canada with him, ending up in the city that they would call home for the rest of their lives.

Landing in Toronto without a word of English, and no support system, Antonio worked a series of jobs that are emblematic of the European immigrants’ Canadian experience. He laid railway track in the wilds of Northern Ontario for a season, then picked tobacco leaves in Delhi Ontario for another, but a lack of food and intolerable working conditions in the tobacco fields pushed him back to Toronto and into the restaurant kitchens. He managed to learn English at night school as this was important to him. Starting as a dishwasher, he worked his way up to the Lord Simcoe Hotel’s kitchen, where he eventually worked as their saucier after some 18 years. Later, Antonio joined his brothers Manuel and Jose in founding Resendes Supermarket, which operated on Queen West for 12 years. Later, he joined brothers John, Carlos and Jose and nephew Jose Manuel, in working at United Portuguese Wholesale, another family invested business, until his retirement.

Antonio and Maria purchased their Bathurst Street house in 1963 where they would spend the rest of their lives, and raise four children. Years later, their grandchildren were blessed to have had their grandparents in their lives.

Antonio and Maria opened their home for many years to newly arrived family members and other people immigrating from the Azores. At one point, there were 18 people living at 143 Bathurst Street.  Antonio felt it was his duty to help those less fortunate than himself.  He actively volunteered for various charities into his later years.

Through it all, Maria da Conceicao was the backbone of the family, always there to make sure the kids were eating enough, acting honourably and saying their prayers. Her children and grandchildren were her whole world, her night and day.

Resourceful and thrifty to a fault, Antonio never stopped being a farmer’s son. Whether intensely cultivating his little backyard garden every season, fighting a constant war against urban pests stealing his produce, or showing a remarkable ability to reuse and repurpose anything you might find. He took a fierce pride in his self-reliance and ability. Anybody who knew him will have a story about something he made himself. Even in his autumn years, when taking the steps to his workshop was too arduous, he would set himself up with hand tools at a table and fix or improve a little something as he was able. Everybody would also be able to recall a story he had told more times than anybody could rightfully remember, but that never seemed to become unwelcome, no matter the repetition.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Maria da Conceicao Resendes, nee Silva, who passed away at the age of 96 on July 1, 2020. He is also preceded in death by his brothers Manuel, Jose, Carlos, and his sisters Maria and Maria Jose.  He is survived by his brother, John and his children Tony(Isabel), Manny(Helen), John and Connie and his grandchildren Alexander, Katarina, Isabella and Sarah.

Family and friends are invited to attend the viewing, to be held at Cardinal Funeral Home 366 Bathurst Street, Toronto on Sunday, February 4 at 4:00-8:00 pm, followed by a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located at 130 Bathurst Street, Toronto on Monday, February 5 at 11:00 am, followed by interment at Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery located at 305 Erskine Avenue, Toronto.

Memorial donations in Antonio and Maria’s names can be made to any Catholic charity, or ask a member of the family for further details.

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