Coping with Grief
We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Enter your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. Messages run for up to one year and you can stop at any time. Your email will not be used for any other purpose.
Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Gracinda de Piedade Botelho, 94, left this earth peacefully, surrounded by her family, at her home on February 15, 2020. She was the wife of the late Manuel V. Botelho. A truly faithful mother to Richard Botelho (Rachel), Elizabeth Kuzniewski (John), Robert Botelho (Joyce), and Carol Leone (Mario). Grace was the proud grandmother to eleven grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and great grandmother to nine great grandchildren. She will be missed by her sister Lorraine Coelho and was predeceased by her brother Sebastian Francisco.
Gracinda was born in Vilarinho Lousa, Portugal to Ventura & Deolinda Francisco on September 20, 1925. “Gracie”, as her husband Manuel used to affectionately call her, ventured the Atlantic to the United States via the port of Rome in 1933. Her entire very active life was spent as a homemaker, factory and office worker, as well as a dedicated volunteer. She achieved successful working stints at the Neumann Endler hat factory, Barden Corporation and Danbury School System. Grace was a devout Catholic, whose fervent faith led her to volunteer in the dental office of St. Peter’s School, as well as with the St. Peter’s Ladies Guild. Grace lived for her family. Their joy was her joy. She loved Annual Family Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter dinners.
Grace achieved a GED diploma, but was also somewhat of a self-educated go getter, which allowed her to delve more into the world of finance through the reading of various business journals. True leisure time was spent with the family in the early days at Seaside Park, New York City, Florida as well as visits to Portugal, Italy and cruises to the Caribbean.
Grace found true contentment in feeding birds that visited outside of her kitchen window. Various bird species delighted her throughout the year while she sat in her Florida Room. She also was an avid amateur horticulturist as was evidenced through her large garden where beautiful flowers and abundant vegetables grew.
Grace enjoyed touching the hearts of those who crossed her path in a loving manner. She treated all with dignity and fawned over the less fortunate. Family and friends will miss and cherish her for the good that she saw in others. The people that knew Grace loved and respected her, held her in high regard for “doing it her way.”
Grace knew that how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. And so, it was with her life, she accepted winning, losing, good luck, bad luck, darkness and light with Grace.
A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held at Danbury Memorial Funeral Home (117 South St. Danbury, CT 06810) on Wednesday February 19, 2020 from 5-8 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Peter’s Church (104 Main St, Danbury, CT 06810) on Thursday February 20, 2020 at 10:30 Am with burial to follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery (Lake Ave. Ext. Danbury, CT)
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to St. Peter’s Church, ARC (Association of Religious Communities), or MHA (Mental Health Association).
To light a candle in her memory or leave a condolence, please visit www.danburymemorial.com
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Gracinda Botelho, please visit our floral store.
St. Peter's Church
104 Main St, Danbury CT 06810
Tel: 1-203-743-2707
Web: https://stpeterdanb.org/online-giving
ARC (Association of Religious Communities)
24 Delay St, Danbury CT 06810
Tel: 1-203-792-9450
Web: https://www.arcforpeace.org/
MHA (Mental Health Association)
345 Main St., Danbury CT 06810
Tel: 1-203-798-2853
Web: http://www.mhconn.org/donate/