Maria C. (Vigario) Melo, beloved wife of the late Angelo P. Melo entered into final rest at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts on May 14, 2013, after a period of declining health. She was 75 years old.

Born on October 10, 1937, in Faial da Terra, St. Michael, Azores, she was the only daughter of the late Antonio Fernandes Vigario and Maria Pereira Medeiros. 

She met the love of her life, Angelo, in 1951 and on June 8, 1958 they were wed. They raised 5 children in Faial da Terra, St. Miguel, Azores and immigrated to the United States in 1970. At age 37 she gave birth to her sixth and last child.

A homemaker most of her life, her interests included cooking, embroidery, knitting, word search puzzles, watching Spanish novelas and baseball. She developed a love for baseball in 2004 and became a big Boston Red Sox fan.

She loved cooking and learned to cook from her grandmother. She enjoyed making an array of dishes and often watched The Food Network for the latest recipes. Maria cooked all kinds of cuisines, nothing was off limits - Portuguese, French, Italian, Greek, American, Spanish and what she used to call, "whatever comes to my mind." She believed that the secret ingredient to cooking, as well as to everything you do in life, is love. Around the holidays, she was well known for baking Portuguese sweet rice, sweet bread, and malassadas.

Her motto was family above all else. She loved family and being surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren the most. She enjoyed big family gatherings where all of her family were present. She and her late mother Maria were instrumental in raising twelve grandchildren.

Maria battled a lifelong illness since the age of 32, when she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, an illness that progressively devastated and robbed her body of its strength and vitality for 43 years. She lived every day of her life with intent, meaning, purpose and passion. She endured 12 operations in total between 1978 and 2008 including knee, shoulder and numerous hip replacement surgeries. She never allowed her illness to stop her from carrying on with the business of living. Though she was limited physically, her zeal and passion for life could not be quenched. 

Every day at 3:00 Maria stopped what she was doing and she prayed - for courage, for strength, and for others also in pain. She had a deep and profound faith in God.

She leaves 6 children, Grace, Iberia, Humberta, Odette, Robert, and Diane. Maria is the grandmother of 12, Shawn, Kristin, Jason, Jennifer, Laurin, Joshua, Jessica, Nicholas, Jacob, Kayla, Courtney, and Kelsey; and the great grand mother of 5, Kianna, Collin, Braylen, Logan, and Kevin.

A funeral mass was held on Saturday, May 18 at St. Anthony Church in Taunton, MA. followed by interment at St. Joseph's Cemetary. Funeral services provided by the Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home, Taunton, MA.

Donations may be made in her memory to her favorite charity, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. http://www.stjude.org/