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February 25, 1934 to May 12, 2015

Maria Sofia Grilo


Maria Sofia Grilo passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Carewest Sarcee Hospice in Calgary at the age of 81, on May 12th, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Sofia was born on the island of Sao Miguel, Azores. She married Jose Cordeiro Grilo, the love of her life, in 1959. She travelled with her six month old son Luis to Kitimat, BC in 1960, where she raised her six children and lived until 2012.

Sofia, who was known as Vavo to her seven grandchildren, was a gentle and loving woman. She cherished the time she spent with her family and enjoyed spoiling them with her Portuguese cooking. She was very talented and would create beautiful needle point and crochet gifts for her loved ones.

She was very dedicated to her faith and would take comfort in attending mass on a regular basis. She not only believed in her faith, she lived it and was an example and inspiration to others, especially her children.

Sofia is survived by five children Luis (Elizabeth), Maria Morra (Leonard), Joe (Silvana), Sophia Jacob (Henry) and Susan Minaker (Perry), and seven grandchildren (Sam, Sarah, Rebecca, Maggie, Genevieve, Donovan and Agatha), and two brothers (Joseph Rebello and Agnelo Rebelo). She is predeceased by her husband Jose Cordeiro Grilo, her daughter Margaret, her father Joao Da Ponte Rebelo, her mother Maria Adelina Melo, her sister Almerinda Carreiro and her brother Joao Rebelo.

The funeral will be held in Kitimat at the Christ the King Church on Wednesday, May 20 at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations being made in Sofia’s memory directly to the Canadian Cancer Society at www.cancer.ca.



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