Class of '67

July 27, 1950 - July 24, 2019

Mario Simoes passed away on July 24, 2019 in London, after a short illnes. Mario will be missed very much by his many family members and friends around the world with whom he loved to keep in touch. The funeral was held on Tuesday 13th August at Sacred Heart Church, Quex Road, Kilburn NW6 4PS followed by burial at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Harrow Road London NW10 5NU.

Condolences: carmella_desouza@hotmail.com

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Mario Antonio Francisco Jose Assis Agnel Simoes was born on 27 July 1950 in Mumbai and was a doted son and brother to his parents and older two sisters – Philomena and Carmella. His eldest sister Philomena was also his god-mother. He grew up with his extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins in Mumbai and was cherished by his maternal grandmother. He often sat on a stool at her knee while she related family stories to him which sowed the seeds for his love of family news.

He attended Our Lady of Mercy and Parklands Goan School school in Nairobi and then in 1970 he moved to London to take up his studies in Business, Accountancy and Economics at Wandsworth College – he had a great skill at remembering facts and figures and this translated into his work as an accountant for Peugeot in London. He was proficient in Portuguese and even did some informal translation work. He loved his cat Misha and also reading and music. He enjoyed visiting places set in Charles Dickens novels and was a dedicated film and TV watcher. Most of all he loved the music of Elvis – collecting lots of records and watching the many Elvis films.

He worked in London for most of his life and as time went on he took on a much harder job which was to be the primary carer for his ageing mother Aida Simoes. This was very difficult and at times a lonely job but he was determined that she would never go into a nursing home and so with the help of family and social services he looked after her at home and supporting her during the many stays she had in hospital. His dedication at times went unnoticed as he never complained or made a fuss of the strains that this must have brought.

Many doubted how he would cope when she passed away but with his usual calmness he adjusted well and moved to a new flat to live on his own, spending his time visiting the local library and watching films and sport.

His knowledge of our family history was first class – he could recall birthdays of previous generations and all his young great nephews and great nieces and he loved keeping in touch with the many parts of the family around the world.

What we all remember him for was his love of food especially home cooking. Which made him a wonderful guest to have as he ate with gusto and always complemented the cook! He would put practically any filling into a sandwich and loved cheese and lime pickle sandwiches.

During Mario’s short illness and long stays in hospital the one single thing that we all remember is that he never complained. He didn’t complain about his illness, the hot hospital wards, the procedures or the fact he couldn’t go home. And if the doctors or nurses asked how he was he always answered with a “Super” – sometimes they didn’t know if he was serious or not as they knew how poorly he was. Even at the very end he would be more concerned about his visitors not staying too long and would try and shoo them home as he was worried about how far they had travelled.

Mario will be remembered for the loving son, brother, uncle, cousin, great uncle and friend that he was to us all.

He will be buried next to his mother and we will all miss him terribly.

Rest in Peace Mario.

Carmella & family