Noronha – Alvaro Augusto Areias Noronha was born in Ribeira Seca, Sao Jorge, Acores, Portugal on July 9th, 1934, and was the youngest of 13 children. Dad was born into a rural lifestyle and after attending school, along with helping his parents with all the farm work, he began to purchase and accumulate a herd of dairy cattle. He soon decided that he was limited on the small island, and he decided that Canada would hold the greatest opportunity for his future. On April 9th, 1957, Dad arrived in Montreal and boarded a train heading west with the promise of a year contract to work for the CPR. He stayed on the train until the last stop in Lathom, where he began his employment. It was a steep learning curve, not knowing any English and figuring out daily activities by trial and error, but gradually everything got easier. Weekends were spent doing different jobs to supplement his income, such as loading box cars, building corrals and stooking. In 1959, Dad worked for the LK Ranch during the winter and then returned to the CPR in the spring. That fall, Dad began working for a local rancher, never to return to the railroad. In 1960, the ranch was sold to the LK and Dad stayed on for the transition. In 1961, Dad returned to the Acores and was married to Maria Amorim. Upon returning to Canada, he spent another year working for the LK Ranch. Although the work was often hard and the days were long (“put an apple in your pocket boys cause it’s going to be a long day”) some of Dad’s most cherished memories were from this time. Colourful characters, trailing cattle in blizzards, frost on the inside of the bunkhouse, run away teams, and broncy saddle horses, were from this era of living the cowboy’s dream on the vast, open land. He never strayed from the prairie life and often said it was the best place to be. A couple of years after marriage, Dad bought the farm in Rosemary and in addition to the farmland, began to build his own cattle herd. Dad loved cattle; farming was a necessity. He thoroughly enjoyed raising his children in the ranching lifestyle and especially enjoyed teaching us about cattle and horses. Every lesson would circle back to relate to cattle in some form or another. Dad especially enjoyed children and was a proud grandfather. He was always interested in what his grandkids were doing and loved hearing about all their adventures. In later years, Dad worked for various local ranchers, still riding horses into his 80’s. Dad loved visiting and meeting new people, and always had the fortune of being surrounded with very good neighbors. Alvaro passed away after a brief illness on September 28, 2021. Dad never wanted to live in town and cherished his acreage in Millicent with all his pets. He had a definite soft spot for animals of any kind and would care for any stray that made their way to his doorstep. Alvaro leaves to cherish his memory, his son; Fernando (Charlotte) Noronha, daughters; Teresa (Kevin) Slorstad, Rosalia Noronha, Lucinda Noronha, grandchildren; Corey, Vicki, Thor, Abbey and Zac, great grandchildren; Summer and Sage and numerous relatives and dear friends. A private interment will be held at the Patricia Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to:
SMITH FUNERAL HOME LTD. AND CREMATORIUM
BROOKS, ALBERTA
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