Tribute

In Loving Memory of Luis Daponte Cancela: On August 8, 2012 after a short illness, Luis Daponte Cancela passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He is survived by his loving daughters Julie, Laura and Liz, his grandson Jacob, his brother Antonio, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife Maria Eugenia in 1998 and his oldest brother Manuel in 2007.
Luis was born on January 20, 1930 in Agua de Pau, Acores, Portugal, the 4th of seven children of Francisco Daponte Cancela and Maria Julia Cabral. (Four of his siblings died during childhood.) As a child, he worked on the farms in his small village and went to school at night. Eventually he was taking over the duties of the teacher and teaching his fellow students to read and write. In 1956, looking for a better life for himself, Luis immigrated to Oliver, Canada. He worked for the CPR for 3 years until he had saved enough to buy his first orchard. During this time he had been corresponding with Maria Eugenia Goncalves in Algarve, Portugal. After asking her to marry him, she arrived in Canada in 1958 and they became the first Portuguese couple to be married in the Catholic Church in Oliver. They eventually had three daughters. They also sponsored the immigration of Luis’s remaining two brothers Manuel and Antonio with their families and Maria Eugenia’s oldest brother in the early 1960’s.
As the years passed, Luis and Maria Eugenia worked hard and were able to make a good life for their family. They soon bought a bigger orchard and worked there until their retirement. Luis continued to garden in his spare time, supplying family and friends with an abundance of fruit and vegetables right up until his death. In addition to gardening, he loved spending time at home with family. He was also a long time member of the Oliver Portuguese Club.
Funeral service will be officiated by Father Dave DeSouza at Christ the King Church, Oliver, B.C. on August 13, 2012 at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at the Oliver Cemetery.
He will be sorely missed.
Arrangements entrusted to Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service