Iracema Dinis (Pacheco) Leal, 95, of Lawrence, passed away peacefully on September, 22, 2015. Iracema was born in Terceira, Azores, Portugal on March 6, 1920. She was a long time resident of Lawrence, Massachusetts since 1966. She retired from Polo Clothing and was a parishioner of the Portuguese Church of Saints Peter & Paul, and later of Corpus Christi Parish. She was a member of the Ladies’ Council of the Portuguese American Civic League of Massachusetts. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and spending time with the family. Iracema was an accomplished seamstress who could design clothing without a pattern. She enjoyed going to Portuguese feasts and traveling to her home island in the Azores and various locations in the United States and Canada.
Iracema was mother to six sons and one daughter, Rui Leal and his wife, Dagmar of Port Saint Lucie, FL; Anselmo Leal and his wife, Fatima of Methuen, MA; Edwin Leal and his wife, Eduarda of Methuen, MA; Oldemira (Leal) Curran and her husband, Daniel of Fort Myers Beach, FL; Helio Leal and his wife, Diane of Salem, NH; Manuel Leal and his wife, Karen of Lawrence, MA; and James Leal and his wife, Zulmira of Dracut, MA. She leaves 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. She is survived by a sister, Izilda Pacheco Silva of Terceira, Azores and by several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Jaime S. Leal, who died in 1982 and by her grandson, Daniel Curran III, who died in October, 2014. Her family would like to thank all the caregivers of Northwood Radius Nursing Home in Lowell, MA for their loving care.
Family and friends are respectfully invited to visit on Friday, September 25th from 4 PM to 8 PM, at Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home, 233 Lawrence Street, Methuen, MA. A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Corpus Christi Parish, 34 Common Street, Lawrence, MA on Saturday September 26th at 10am with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery, 130 N. Lowell Street, Methuen, MA. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Iracema’s honor may be made to Hope Hospice, 391 Broadway Street Everett MA 02149 or the American Diabetes Association 10 Speen Street 2nd floor Framingham MA 01701. For directions or to submit online condolences, please visit our website www.pollardfuneralhome.com. The Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home is honored to serve the Leal family through this difficult time.