Henrique Pires Tavares

Henrique Pires Tavares, 67, of Longwood, Florida, passed away Sunday, August 8, 2021 following a brief journey with cancer. He was the loving husband of Dominga Tavares with whom he shared 48 year together, 42 years of marriage, and a lifetime of memories.

Born in Brava, Cape Verde, son of Jose and Olinda (Pires) Tavares, he had resided in New Bedford for most of his life before retiring and moving to Florida in 2019 to be close to his grandsons Brayden and Jacob.

He was a proud veteran having served in the United States Army National Guard.

Mr. Tavares had worked as a boiler room engineer at Exxon Mobile and Titleist until his retirement. Djica enjoyed playing the violin, singing, and dancing with the love of his life, Eguete. He was always the life of the party and loved the company of his friends and family at home filled with music, story telling, laughter, food, and good times. He was incredibly smart and possessed great detailed knowledge of facts from a variety of disciplines including history, geography, and fun facts about everything.

Djica loved working with his hands and could fix or build anything but was gentle enough to grow a beautiful garden. But most importantly, he was a loving father that provided the best life for his children.

Surviving in addition to his wife are his children, Troy Adam Tavares and his wife Cristina of Longwood, FL and Jessica Lynn Tavares of Philadelphia, PA, and godson Valdir Correia of New Bedford; two grandchildren, Brayden and Jacob Tavares; his siblings, Eugenia Freeman and Ana Bence of New Bedford, Manuel Tavares and his wife Maria of Providence, Maria Tavares, Raimundo Tavares and his wife Elisabeth and Julio Tavares all of New Bedford and Susan Silva and her husband Romero of Attleboro; mother-in-law Deolinda Santos, sister-in-law Dianela Soares and husband Emidio, Ildavina Barbosa and husband Jose, Susana Correia, Jackie Faria and her husband Jorge, brother-in-law Chris Dos Santos and his wife Pam, all of New Bedford; many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A wake will be held on Friday, August 13, 2021 from 5-8 p.m. at Rock Funeral Home, 1285 Ashley Blvd., New Bedford. Funeral, Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. from the funeral home followed by a Funeral Mass at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 47 S. Sixth St., New Bedford. Burial will follow at Rural Cemetery. Masks are required for entry at funeral home and church.

For online tributes, please visit: www.rock-funeralhome.com