Dorothea Machado

Dorothea Machado, the oldest living World War II veteran of Fairhaven, passed away peacefully on Friday May 17, 2024. Dorothea had a true love of life and once she hit her goal of reaching 100 years, she upped the ante and wanted to reach 106!

Dorothea, or Dora/Dottie began and spent most of her life in New Bedford, MA. She was the daughter of the late Maria (Souza) Machado and Charles Machado. She was a graduate of New Bedford High School and Suffolk University.

Dorothea was an extremely hard worker and knew the value of a dollar. Her first job as a junior stenographer landed her at the Pentagon, just after its opening in 1943. From there she was eager to serve her country and enlisted in the United States Navy where she was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Naval Services. Her next stop was California where she worked for the Howard Hughes Aircraft Company. This allowed her to soak up the sun and the lovely weather of the West Coast. While in Culver City, CA, Dorothea was a hand model for the makeup company, Max Factor and was a clothing model for the 5-7-9 store. She later returned to her home city of New Bedford and was a manager for Shawmut Bank and later Bank of America. After becoming restless with retirement, she worked for Aubertine Funeral Home. She was honored to march in the Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day parades of Fairhaven and took great pride in being a speaker during those festivities.

Dorothea loved to travel and, at the young age of 20, hopped on a cargo ship headed for Europe. She spent two months traveling solo with an important stop in Achadinha, Sao Miguel to see where her mother, Maria, was born. The Azores became a favorite vacation spot for her and she traveled there several more times throughout her lifetime. She was a hopeless romantic and lived a life of fantasy vicariously through characters in the books that she read and the movies she watched. Dorothea had an incredibly good memory and would remember the birthdays and special occasions of her relatives and dear friends. When it came to writing, she truly had a gift. Her family and friends were always lucky recipients of a greeting card filled on all sides with a heartfelt message written in her beautiful script.

When she moved to Fairhaven later in life, she became an active member of the Fairhaven Senior Center where she could be found walking laps, collecting money for the senior suppers and playing bingo. She attributed part of her long life to the socialization she enjoyed there.

She is survived by her nephew, Charles E. Machado, her godchildren, Maria L. Machado and Michael C. Machado, and great nieces and a great nephew, all of North Carolina. She will be missed by her countless friends to whom she has inspired throughout her 100+ years and by her dear cousins. Dorothea was predeceased by her brother, Charles Machado and her cousin “Sweet Mary” Mello.

Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, 136 Earle St., New Bedford followed by burial in St. John’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fairhaven Council on Aging, 229 Huttleston Ave., Fairhaven, MA 02719 or Community Nurse Home Care, 62 Center St., Fairhaven, MA 02719 – www.communitynurse.com. For online tribute: www.waring-sullivan.com.