Joseph Alves
July 23, 1931 ~ June 15, 2020
Portland - Joseph "Joe" Pacheco Alves, 88, passed away on Monday, June 15, 2020, at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough after a lengthy illness. He was born on July 23, 1931 in Augusta, the son of Antone and Adeline "Pacheco" Alves. After Joe finished school, he joined the Army and served his country in the Korean War. Upon honorable discharge from the Army, Joe became a Merchant Seaman, sailing for 35 years and was often on the same Texaco ship as his 2 brothers. Joe married Dorothy "Dottie" Holmes on March 24, 1973 and they made their home in Portland. Two of Joe's favorite pastimes were listening to country music and dancing. He and Dottie were frequent visitors to the VFW and American Legion halls, dancing to country music. Joe also enjoyed playing cards with family members and leather craft; making beautiful belts, handbags, gun holsters and saddle bags. Upon retirement from the Merchant Marines, Joe held various jobs, finally retiring at the age of 87 as a Walmart greeter. As a Walmart Greeter, he earned several Customer Service awards for his friendly and helpful manner with customers.
Joe was pre-deceased by his wife; parents; brothers, Vintura, Tony; and sisters, Adeline and Lorraine. He is survived by his step-children; Debbie Cummings and husband Gordon of Florida, Beau Mears and wife Sandy of Westbrook, Bill Holmes and wife Lori of Westbrook; grandchildren, Camie Wallace, Joel King, Alicia DeVore, Mandi Mears and Brooke Libby; brother, Eugene Alves and wife Ada of Florida; sisters, Rita Estabrook of Brunswick, Angelina Magno of Falmouth, Mary Nauroth and husband Daryl of California. Joe is also survived by 5 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Southern Maine Hospice and the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough for their care of Joe and support to his family during his final days; Doctor's Madrano, Glann & Llanto of the Veteran's Administration for their care of Joe over the last several years.
Visiting hours will be held from 2:00-4:00pm on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Joe's life will be held at 10:00am on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, at St. Joseph's Church, 673 Stevens Avenue, Portland. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, South Portland. To view Joe's memorial page or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Joe's name to Hospice of Southern Maine, 180 US Route 1 Ste. 1, Scarborough, Maine 04074
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Joe, Joseph, Jamie, Matthew, Amber and I miss you very much. I especially miss our chats – stories of the shenanigans with you, Uncle Tony, Uncle Gene and Grampa. You were right, you didn’t go without a fight. RIP Uncle Joe, we love you!
– Anna & Joe Stein
I was very sorry to hear about the passing of my uncle Joe. He was always kind to all of his nieces and nephews. When I was a young boy, uncle Joe came to visit my family on Munjoy Hill. When he walked in, I was doing my homework at the kitchen table. Uncle Joe gave me a pep talk about the importance of education. He told me he dropped out of high school when he was a teenager and that was the biggest regret in his life. Uncle Joe encouraged me to stay in school, learn my lessons well and make good grades. Education, said Uncle Joe, was the key to getting a good job and having a high quality of life. I took my uncle’s advice, earned a masters degree and ended up having a long, fulfilling career in higher education administration. Thank God I had the good sense to listen to my uncle. His wisdom made all the difference in my life. Farewell uncle Joe. May God rest your soul.
– Rick Wright
Farewell Uncle Joe. May God rest your soul.
– Rick & Ann Wright
Beau and Family – I was sorry to learn of Joe’s passing. I have wonderful memories of Joe from Binax and still have the belt he made for me so many years ago. I remember him stopping by my office on a nightly basis just to say hello and his smile could brighten any day. Please know my thoughts and prayers are with all of you. God Bless.
– Stephanie Sylvester