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Olivia Domingos Machado Alvernaz |
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One of seven children, Olivia Domingues Machado was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on September 2, 1907. When she was just four years old, the family returned to Lajes do Pico, Azores. Her oldest brother, Joe, returned to America. When his papers were processed by immigration, they changed his name to Joe Mitchell.. Her brother Raphael went off to a seminary school to study to be a priest. All the remaining siblings got married. Olivia, however, stayed home with her mother and father. When Olivia was about 30 years old, her mother asked if she wanted to go see the country where she was born (America). Papers were arranged for her to go visit America. When she arrived in America, she stayed in her brother Joe's house in Massachusetts. She applied for a job at clothing warehouse where she met many other Portuguese people. She stayed there for five years. It was during that time that she decided to stay in America. Olivia and her aunt decided to travel to San Diego to go visit their cousin João Bento. They arrived in San Diego in the late 1930s. She got a job just eight days later. She loved San Diego's mild weather and the Portuguese people too. Olivia took a job at the High Seas Cannery. It was there that one of her co-workers kept encouraging Olivia to date her brother. This co-worker would point out how handsome her brother was each time he came to unload fish from his boat and visit his sister. His name was Manuel Alvernaz. He had a beard at that time. Olivia wasn't fond of men with beards. Four months later, a clean-shaven Manuel Alvernaz proposed to her and they moved into his home on Ingelow Street. Shortly after, Mrs. Alvernaz stopped working at the cannery and became a full-time mother to her son Richard. Later, the family moved to Hugo Street. Richard grew up and raised five children of his own. Her late husband Manuel died in the hospital from stomach cancer at the early age of 58. Mrs. Alvernaz helped out with Portuguese events quite frequently. She volunteered her time at the U.P.S.E.S. hall working in the kitchen for more than thirty years. She also helped with the Cabrillo Festival as well as many other Portuguese-related events in the community. She was a member of the Portuguese-American Social and Civic club, Council No. 54 Brotherhood of St. Anthony, Cabrillo Council No. 19 I.D.E.S., Santa Eugenia Council No. 196 S.P.R.S.I., Santa Perpetua Council No. 83 U.P.P.E.C., San Diego Council No. 54 U.P.S.E.S., Aliança Açoreana, Cabrillo Civic Club No. 16, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and Festa do Santo Amaro. She was very well liked in the community. PRESD had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Alvernaz a few months before her passing. An excerpt from her interview is posted and can be listened to (in Portuguese) by clicking here. Mrs. Alvernaz's last wish was to be able to die in her own home in her own bed and thankfully, she was able to fulfill her wish. Mrs. Alvernaz died in her sleep on August 28, 2007, just five days before her hundreth birthday. She is survived by her son Richard Alvernaz, five grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren. Olivia was the wife of the late Manuel P. Alvernaz, sister of the late Manuel P. Machado and aunt to numerous nieces and nephews.
Burial
Memorial Service
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