Adriano Ferreira Obituary

Adriano Ledo Ferreira, 91, of Osoyoos, British Columbia, passed away peacefully on January 19, 2022.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 am on January 25, 2022 at St. Anne Catholic Church, 7610 87 Street, Osoyoos, BC and virtually via Zoom (link provided upon request) with Rev. Peter Tompkins officiating. Burial will follow at Osoyoos Lakeview Cemetery.

Adriano was born October 20, 1930, in Ribeirinha, Sao Miguel, Azores (Portugal) to Adelaide and Leonardo Ferreira. He married (Maria) Elsa Amaral on November 25th, 1950. She remained his beloved wife until his death.

Adriano immigrated to Canada in 1954, on only the second immigrant ship to leave the Island of Sao Miguel, and landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Despite knowing no English nor French, he found work where work was needed—from farming sugar beets in rural Ontario to laying bricks in Montreal. He ultimately made his way across the country to Kitimat, BC where he climbed the ranks at the Alcan aluminum smelter for 21 years.

In 1979, Adriano took early retirement from Alcan and moved his family to Osoyoos, BC. However, instead of retiring, he and Elsa purchased a small business with an orchard, fruit market, gas station and specialty Portuguese imports store. The orchard became a favourite summer destination of all their grandchildren, who were treated to limitless volumes of cherries, fruit pie and soft serve ice cream. They also loved to visit the orchard, riding with “grandpa” on his tractor.

Adriano is survived by his beloved wife, Elsa; children, Adriana, Jess (Lidia) Ed (Barb) and Michael (Heather); eight grandchildren, Melissa (Chris), Kathryn (Everett), Justin (Renee), Victoria, Anthony, Abbey, Alex and Sam; and three great-grandchildren, Quinn, Rhys and Blake. He is also survived by his brother, Deodato Ferreira (Isabel) and nephew, Paul.

Adriano came to Canada to make a better life for himself and his family and together with Elsa was amazingly successful in achieving that goal. He worked tirelessly to provide for and support his children in realizing their dreams. When not working, Adriano enjoyed fishing, gardening and socializing with family and friends. He looked forward to big family dinner events when turkey (his favourite) was usually on the menu. He was also (perhaps unduly) proud of his home-made wine and Portuguese chourico, both of which he shared generously with friends. He served as a Director of the Portuguese Club of Osoyoos and regularly attended events at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch in Osoyoos. We’ll remember him for his easy laugh and mischievous sense of humour.

The family would like to acknowledge and thank the outstanding and compassionate care provided by the staff at McKinney Place and South Okanagan General Hospital. They also wish to acknowledge and express sincere gratitude to Dr. Robert Calder for his care and assistance, particularly during the most recent difficult few months.

The family requests donations be made to the Canadian Red Cross in lieu of flowers.