Belmira Mendonca
LOWELL Belmira (Espinola) Mendonca, 77, of Lowell, died Saturday, September 11, 2010, at her home after a brief illness. She was the widow of the late Manuel S. Mendonca who died in 1988 after thirty four years of marriage.
A daughter of the late Alvaro G. and the late Angelina L. (Cunha) Espinola, she was born March 26, 1933, in Graciosa, Acores, and was educated in that area, married, and had her children. In September of 1974, she emigrated to the United States with her family, making her home in the Back Central Street Neighborhood of Lowell.
A communicant of St. Anthony’s Church, she was a member of the Holy rosary Sodality. She resided on Central Street and worked for Paris Shoe and Grace Shoe. After the death of her husband, she stayed home to help raise her grandchildren, and enjoyed tending to her backyard garden.
She is survived by her children, Conceicoa Sousa and her husband, Luis, of Lowell, and Duarte Mendonca and his wife, Angela, of Lowell; her grandchildren, Mark Sousa, Steven Sousa, Kevin Sousa, Juliana Mendonca, and Natalia Mendonca, all of Lowell; her brothers and sisters, Maria L. Espinola and her husband, Manuel, of Terceira, Argentina Picanco and her husband, Rui, of Canada, Nelie DaSilva and her husband, Eiduino, of Canada, Osvaldo Espinola and his wife, Hermogenia, of Lowell, Albino Espinola and his wife, Lucia, of Lowell; and many nieces and nephews.
She was also the mother of the late Saliutino Mendonca who died at the age of 9, and a sister of the late Manuel E. Espinola, the late Irmalindo Espinola, the late Teresa DeFatima, the late Dora Espinola, and the late Glorinda Silva.
YOU ARE INVITED TO HER CALLING HOURS 4 UNTIL 8 P.M. ON MONDAY. ON TUESDAY, HER FUNERAL WILL BEGIN AT 9 A.M. AT THE MCDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND STREET, LOWELL 978-458-6816. HER FUNERAL MASS WILL BE OFFERED AT ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH AT 10 A.M.. BURIAL IN ST. PATRICK CEMETERY. E-CONDOLENCE - MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM
