Maria de Lurdes Nunes

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our Mom - Maria de Lurdes Nunes – on April 6, 2026 at the age of 79.

She passed peacefully in the embrace of her four children, a moment that will forever live in our hearts.

Her life remembered:

Maria de Lurdes waited 3 years for her fiancé, Leonardo, to return from the war in Angola.
She would write to him often during that time.
To this day, she had kept all the photographs he sent her of his life while they were apart. 

As a devout Catholic, Maria de Lurdes spent much of those years at church, praying for Leonardo’s safe return. Her prayers were heard.
In July 1965, they came to Toronto with her family, got married within weeks, and began their life together. 

She was a loving and supportive mother to Delphine, Margaret, Dave, and Nancy.
And she was the sweetest and caring “VAVO” to her grandchildren Ashley, Megan, Brianna, Nicholas, and Denzel.
She will be deeply missed by her surviving sisters, brother, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

Maria de Lurdes found love in all of us and in everything she did in her life: 

Her love of growing … she loved to grow flowers. This love began back home in the Azores with hydrangeas. She brought that love with her to Canada, nurturing beautiful gardens in every home we lived in. After down-sizing later in life, she grew gorgeous orchids that adorned the window sills in her condo. 

Her love of laughing … she instilled this source of joy in her children and grandchildren alike. And we all enjoyed making her laugh in return. We often remember the funny stories that she shared from her childhood, and about her aunts and cousins. 

Her love of creating … she was such a perfectionist at everything she made. She was an amazing cook, like both her parents. As a trained seamstress, she used to make dresses for herself and her daughters. She also made beautiful embroidery on pillow cases and on all our baby bibs. But it was her love for crocheting that has left us with many precious keepsakes. 

Her love of living … she was strong willed, almost to a fault. She refused to let health-related issues slow her down, supporting us in the daily challenges of our own lives, and especially with Dad. For many years, she enjoyed aqua-fit classes as a Y member. She loved taking long walks, often with her beloved dog “Ginger”. After Dad passed, you would find her doing laps with her walker on an indoor track, stopping only to dance along with Zumba classes in the gym below. 

Her love of singing … when she was growing up, there was always music at home. Her mother played acoustic guitar and her father loved their stereo record-player. After starting her own family, she loved listening to whatever her kids and grandkids were listening to. She enjoyed going to live performances as well. The Mamma Mia musical was her favourite, she would be tapping away with her feet and always sing along. 

Mom, we cherish all of these memories of you.
And we take comfort in believing that you are together again with Dad.
In our hearts we know you are happily singing your song… 
“I believe in angels, something good in everything I see 
I believe in angels, when I know the time is right for me 
I’ll cross the stream, I have a dream.” 

If desired donations in Maria's Memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Society or Heart & Stroke Foundation