Anthony Canto Barboza, a devoted family man, World War II veteran and longtime door-to-door salesman known in New Bedford and neighboring regions simply as “the Fuller Brush Man,” died peacefully on March 30, at the Royal of Fairhaven, where he was surrounded by family. He was 96.
Anthony was married to Lillian Barros, with whom he had eight boys. She died of an illness in 1974. He never remarried and is survived by his sons (Anthony, Ronald, Kenneth, Steven, Robert, Thomas, David and Craig), his daughter, Diana; his sisters (Louise, Maria and Yvonne) and brother, Louis; his sisters-in-law, Mary and Jean Barros; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A first generation Cape Verdean-American, Anthony's extraordinary life spanned two centuries and 17 U.S. presidents, from Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama. He was born on October 25, 1919 in East Falmouth, Mass. He was the sixth of 14 children. His father, Antonio, was a successful entrepreneur in Cape Cod; his mother, Maria, worked as a cook at the Beer Barrel, a family-owned restaurant. Much of his childhood was spent doing chores. When he was 2, Anthony, who went by the nickname “Tinny,” was sent to live with his grandmother in a remote corner of East Providence that he likened to the “Old Country,” due to its concentration of immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands, few of whom spoke English.
After high school, he worked at a newspaper stand on a passenger ship called the Arrow, which traveled from Providence to New York. It was there that he met Lillian, his future wife.
In 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Discipline was not a problem for someone who grew up with demanding grandparents. “My grandmother was tougher than any sergeant,” Anthony said.
During the Second World War, he was a staff sergeant in the Army’s chemical warfare division then worked in transportation. He was stationed in France, the Philippines and Japan. In 1943, while in the service, he married Lillian. He proposed to Lillian three times before her mother gave the couple her approval. After the war, when he returned to New Bedford, Anthony traded his Army fatigues for a suit and tie and began selling household goods for the Fuller Brush Company; the Electrostatic Carpet Sweeper was his favorite product. He eventually became a regional sales manager. In 1965, the couple purchased a home on Court Street, where he lived for much of his life.
After his wife’s death, he learned to cook and raised the last four of his children alone. In addition to Fuller Brush, Anthony also sold products for Tupperware and Avon. Despite growing up with what he said was little self-confidence, he turned out to be a superb salesman who could talk his way into the kitchens and living rooms of total strangers, many of whom came to consider him as part of their extended family. He taught each of his sons the trade and a go-getter attitude that helped them to become writers, artists and business professionals.
In his later years, Anthony loved to attend Cape Verdean dances with his sisters. He also liked painting, politics, a good boxing match and good cheer.
The Barboza family will receive visitors on Monday, from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Saunders-Dwyer Funeral Home, located at 495 Park St. His funeral, also at Saunders-Dwyer, is on Tuesday at 8 a.m., followed by his Mass at Our Lady of Assumption Church at 9 a.m. and burial in St. John’s Cemetery.