Antonio Silveira Dutra was born on August 26, 1926, in Pedro Miguel, Faial, Azores, to Ana and Francisco Dutra. He was the 7th of 9 siblings. On May 18, 1958, he married Maria do Céu do Coração de Jesus Medeiros, his wife, soulmate, and life partner. They were married for 64 years.
All his life Antonio worked incredibly hard. At the age of 12 he began working in Faial as a farmhand and cattleman. When the volcano erupted in Faial in 1957, he moved to Canada to provide his wife and future family a better life. In 1960, Antonio and Maria welcomed their first son, Gabriel, and three years later, welcomed their daughter Lucy. After working eleven years in Northern Canada as a lumberjack, he saved enough money to move to California to be near his family and friends. There, he worked as a steelworker until his retirement.
Antonio loved going to festas, dancing, swimming around the island while he was in Faial, playing sueca, making jokes “brincadeiras”, having one glass of wine every day, and most of all spending time with his family and friends. He always put the Blessed Virgin Mary first, as she was his Godmother, and was a devout Catholic, attending the first Fridays and Saturdays of the month at Sacred Heart Church.
Antonio, better known as “Avô”, “Pai”, “Tio”, “Uncle Tony”, “beleza” and “amigo” to his loved ones, returned to Heaven on January 26, 2023, at the age of 96, at Alexander Cohen Hospice in Hughson. He is preceded in death by his precious granddaughter Amanda Hazen, his parents, Ana and Francisco Dutra, and his siblings Jose, Francisco, Manuel, Maria, Ana, Jacinto, and Eduardo. He is survived by his beloved wife, Maria Dutra, his daughter Lucy Dutra-Hazen, his son Gabriel Dutra, his granddaughters Emily Sorn and Laura Hazen, his granddaughter-in-law Karen Sorn, his great-grandchildren, Micah and Tiago Medrano, cherished nieces, nephews, and godchildren, and his brother Constantino Dutra.
Visitation will be from 4-8pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at Whitehurst Norton Funeral Home 286 W. Main Street, Turlock, California 95380.
Rosary and Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 10 am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church 1200 Lyons Avenue, Turlock, California, 95380.
Burial will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park 900 Santa Fe Avenue, Hughson, California, 95326.
Serving as pallbearers are Ed Dutra, Kenny Correia Jr., Lance Von-Stade, Manuel Martins, Gilbert Medeiros and Benito Armenta.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.whitehurstnortondiasfunerals.com for the Dutra family.
