Alzira "Zira" Carvalhana

Alzira “Zira” Carvalhana, age 66 years, died Friday, January 25th at her home after a courageous battle with cancer. She was the beloved wife of Jaime R. Carvalhana of Dartmouth. Zira was the loving mother of one daughter, Ana Veloso, wife of Joe, of Dartmouth. She is survived by 3 grandchildren: Adam, Sarah and Noah; one brother, Ramiro da Fonseca, husband of Sue, of New Bedford; as well as several aunts, nieces and nephews. Zira was predeceased by her sister Fernanda da Fonseca.
Zira was born in Santa Luzia, Mangualde, Portugal, daughter of Olivia deCouto (Rodrigues) and Fernando da Fonseca. She immigrated to this country in 1961 where she worked as Stitcher at the Cliftex Corporation for 37 years. She and her husband, Jaime, loved taking to trips to the Cape Cod Canal and LaSalette. Her fondest memories were trips with her family as well as all-day trips to the beach. She loved shopping, cooking, desserts, math and sewing. Zira was a master seamstress, effortlessly making all of Ana’s clothes as well as her own. She was a dedicated matriarch to her family. She loved family gatherings where she was the hostess. She made everything just right for her whole family. As her daughter is to her now, Alzira was devoted to her own mother; always putting her mother’s well-being in front of her own. Zira showed the same devotion to her grandchildren: Adam, Sarah and Noah. Trips to the Buttonwood Zoo with Adam or watching him play his trumpet, attending Sarah’s violin concerts with a rose for her little musician and going to see Noah portray their favorite character, Frosty the Snowman, and bringing him a yellow lollipop. Zira wanted nothing but the best for her daughter and grandchildren so they would not have to go through the hardships she had to as child. She was a woman of unending devotion to her family. She will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved her.
The Carvalhana family would like to thank the staff at Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association for the care they gave to Zira.
In accordance with her wishes, Zira’s funeral services will be celebrated in one day. It will be Wednesday, January 30th with visiting hours between 8 – 9 A.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church in Padanaram at 10 A.M. Burial will follow at South Dartmouth Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association, 200 Mill Road, Fairhaven Ma 02790 or American Cancer Society P.O. Box 22718 Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.