Vasco S. Caetano, formerly of Somerville and Portland, Maine died at the Winchester Nursing Center in Winchester MA on the morning of Saturday, December 14, 2024. He was 81 years old.
Vasco was born in Faro, Portugal, son of the late Manuel and Maria Samuel Caetano. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Lisbon (Portugal) where he majored in geology and chemistry. After emigrating to the United States, he earned a Master of Public Health degree (MPH) from the Boston University Graduate School of Public Health.
For over 20 years Vasco excelled as a certified bilingual teacher of math and science, mentoring recent adolescent immigrants in the Bilingual Program at Cambridge Rindge & Latin School. Greatly concerned with protecting the natural environment, he was active in many organizations including the American Public Health Association, the National Environmental Health Association and the Massachusetts Environmental Health Association. He also served as Vice-President of COPA (the Cambridge Organization of Portuguese Americans) and SPAL (the Somerville Portuguese American League).
In his spare time, Vasco enjoyed raising beautiful orchids and took loving care of his cockatiel and parakeets. He will be dearly missed by his colleagues, former students and friends, who fondly remember his intelligence, dedication and sense of humor.
His ashes will be buried in his hometown of Olhão, Portugal. No funeral services are planned.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Beals-Geake-Magliozzi Funeral Home of Medford.