Antonio "Tony" Sardinha Duarte

Antonio “Tony” Sardinha Duarte, 75 of Rochester MA, passed away peacefully at home on Friday December 23, 2022 with his family at his side.  Antonio fought a courageous battle with Parkinson's disease for over 30 years.  His smile was contagious, even after Parkinsons took control of his face, his smile shone through.

Antonio was born on June 28, 1947 in Pretoria, South Africa the son of the late Antonio Sardinha and Maria Sardinha (Pereira) Duarte. Antonio married Celeste Florentina (De Gouveia) Duarte on June 30, 1974 and they enjoyed 48 years of marriage. He worked the majority of his life in agricultural farming, in Bredell, South Africa.  Antonio was a member of the Irmaos Do Santissimo, a religious brotherhood from Portugal, for many years.  He dedicated a large part of his life to helping the Portuguese Catholic Church in Benoni South Africa (Our Lady of Fatima) where he was a parishioner and president of the fundraising committee. He was also one of the founders of Our Lady of Fatima nursing home in Brentwood Park, Benoni. After many years of visiting his family Antonio moved to Rochester with his wife in 2017 to be closer to his children and grandchildren and spent many happy years with them.

Surviving, in addition to his wife Celeste are his sons Antonio (Yvette) of Rochester, Peter (Laura) of Mattapoisett, and daughter Rose (Hilario) of Rochester.  He was the grandfather of Tiago, Jaime, Robby, Rafael, Joshua, Mateo, Luke and Grace. He is also survived by his sister Fatima Santo (Abel) of Edenvale, South Africa and Uncle Tony to many nephews, nieces and many friends, in South Africa and USA, that became family.

The family would like to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time.

His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday December 29,  at 10 am at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church 94 High Street, Wareham, MA.  Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery, 11 Hillside Road Rochester with a reception to follow.  Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J Fox Parkinson’s Foundation, please see the link at the bottom of this page  www.michaeljfox.org.  To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.warehamvillagefuneralhome.com

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