London, May 10, 2015: HUBERT DE SOUZA. Ex-Nairobi, Kenya, passed away on May 10, 2015. Much loved husband of Carmella, father to Charmaine/Peter Stenson and Robert/Khalda De Souza. Devoted Papa to Theo/Zach/Ben/Isaac. Hubert was the eldest son of the late David/Rosie De Souza; brother of late Philip and Ruby/Arthur Monteiro and Rita/Seby Po.

Condolences: carmella_desouza@hotmail.com

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Hubert was born in Nairobi in 1942 and was the eldest of four children. His parents were emigrants from Goa and he grew up as part of a large Goan community. He had fond memories of travelling to Goa on holiday as a child and told stories of how exciting it was to travel by rail to Mombasa and then on to Goa by sea, to stay in his dads village Tivim.

He attended the Dr Ribeiro Goan School and was a keen sportsman particularly football. After his studies he was accepted by the Civil Aviation School and trained as an air traffic controller which was the start of a long career in aviation. On qualifying he was transferred to small outposts in East Africa where he purchased a speedy Vespa scooter to get around. This was also the start of his love of travel – he made many bachelor trips to places such as Tanga and Malindi and as a young adult ventured further afield to Europe and North Africa. He loved fishing and organizing trips for the Pyschedelics social club that he was part of, including visits to the Goan Institute in Kisumu and Nakuru.

In 1970 he married Carmella and soon after he made a brave move to come to England with Robert, myself and his parents. Although it wasn’t easy, he secured a job in British Airways as a flight planner and his love of travel continued – but this time with his family in tow. On holiday we were typical teenagers and it was dad who had to get us out of bed in the morning to hit the tourist trail. He often said that he didn’t bring us all the way to a foreign country to have a lie in!

As he raised his own family, he took his wider responsibilities seriously and was always there for those around him – his family, his neighbours and friends. More than anything he wanted his children and nieces and nephews to make the most of the opportunities that he didn’t have as a child and he encouraged and sometimes nagged us to work harder and aim higher.

He continued to be active in the Goan community in the UK. He was on the organizing committee for the annual social for Tivim and enjoyed meeting his friends of his youth at dances and sports days. He also loved a good dance and wouldn’t rest until everyone was on the dance floor with him whether they wanted to dance or not! Dancing in the living room on Christmas day is a memory that makes us all smile.

He loved his flight planner job – particularly using his knowledge of flight routes and briefing the crew personally. A highlight of his career was fulfilling a dream to travel on Concorde which he took on a one way trip to Washington DC and towards the end of his career he enjoyed travelling closer to the front of the plane than the back having earned his long service upgrade.

Most of all we will remember Dad for being a devoted Grandad to his four grandsons – Theodore, Zachariah, Benjamin and Isaac. He took great pleasure in seeing them grow up and showed patience as they learnt to walk and talk but he did draw the line at changing nappies.

After retirement he most enjoyed his holidays to Portugal where he loved the blue skies and walks along the beach in the evening sunshine. His Portuguese family introduced him to the local cuisine which he greatly appreciated and he would like nothing better than a lunch of grilled fish and chilled white wine followed by a long afternoon nap.

So today is a celebration of Hubert’s life and a time to cherish and remember the many good times that we had with him as a husband, father, brother, Papa and friend.