From Palmerston Ave. Looking east	Looking west from dead end

---

Honours a beloved immigrant Portuguese couple and their family who lived most of their lives at 42 Follis, exemplifies the working class character of Seaton Village residents, whose next door neighbour, David Ryan, created this published poem:

		"Joe and Belmira's Tears" 
  
Seven years ago 
Jose and Belmira bent their grape arbour 
To grow over our backyard
And it became a wonderful thing

This spring Belmira is dead.
Jose is frail,
And is leaving his home.

Four days ago we trimmed the grape vine.
The wounds on the vine have not yet healed.
The sap drops onto the ground.

It is as if they are Jose and Belmira's tears.

"Jose and Belmira's Tears" by David Ryan in Forever Spoken: The International Library of Poetry (Howard Ely, Ed.), 2007. Owings Mills, MD.
Daughter, Val Cabral offered this submission, April, 2011:

If you were to use one word to describe Belmira Fumo, it would be 'exceptional', in the sense that she was truly an immensely kind-hearted person. There was nothing she wouldn't do for a neighbour, a friend, and most definitely a family member. It didn't matter how many hurdles she had to endure throughout her life, she always had a beautiful smile on her face. The glass was forever half full. She was left in Azores, Portugal, 4 months pregnant with me (Valdemira) and a 2 year old daughter, Iria, to care for. But she knew that with her devotion and love very strong, the man of her life (Jose Maria Fumo) was going to venture to the unknown Toronto, Canada for a better life for his family. When the time was right, in April 1963, she set off with us to arrive in Canada with limitless hopes and dreams. The world was her oyster to savour.

Mom and Dad wanted to expand their family and mom gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at Toronto General Hospital in May 1964. He was my parents' pride and joy, and every day was a special day with "Joey" and his two sisters in their lives. We all endured the burning of our home. Belmira went through the burning of our home in May 1971, coming home from a long day at work, to see the whole block closed off due to the fire that started in the neighbour's home. But she had faith and prayed for better days ahead, as long as the family was together and there were no deaths in the blaze.

Mom took care of my sons (Andrew and Robert) who went to St. Peter's RC School, while I was at work. She would look out the living room window in the winter or on the veranda in the fall and spring and watch them go down the lane way across from our home. She could see them walking from Follis to Barton and then she would start her day preparing their warm lunches. They were so confident in the fact that their grandma (vavo) would welcome their friends that they would sometimes bring their friends home for lunch and she would treat them like any other close relative. The house was always full of visitors on the weekends because they knew that they would be welcome - with my dad's tremendous sense of humour and my mom's love for life, it was obvious they would all have a great time. Jose Maria (my dad) made sure he cultivated a part of him with the vineyard in the backyard which he shared with our neighbour, David Ryan and his family. He cared for that vineyard as if it was his baby. Their lives were never complete without praising their 5 grandsons (Andrew & Robert Cabral, Steven & Fernando Lopes, Joshua Fumo) and two granddaughters (Kathy Lopes & Natalya Fumo). Their grandchildren are able to say with emotional pride that they remember when.. the memories of the special moments with their grandparents are unparalleled.

Mom passed away in peace in her sleep after several years of debilitating illnesses - she had congestive heart failure and towards the end, she could hardly walk up the stairs with severe water retention. But throughout her illnesses, she maintained her special skills of cooking and baking. When she didn't have the strength in her right arm to knead the dough for the massa (sweet bread) with both hands, that didn't stop her. Her last feat making massa for Christmas, she did it with her left hand. The list of delicious Portuguese cuisine is endless. She passed away 10 months short of their 50th wedding anniversary and my dad's heart died the day she left us. The only thing that saved him for 3 more years was his sense of humour and his love for his family.

As my husband, Joe Cabral said, "Needless to say Mothers-in-law get a bad rap generally, but my Mother-in-law was a Saint and more than a Mother to me."

When David Ryan called me to tell me that he had suggested to the Seaton Village Committee that at the lane way facing 42 Follis may honour my mom's name, I couldn't stop crying. What a beautifully special honour - and we thank the community for this.

My father came to Canada in May 1957. He started working at Canadian National Railway from 1957 - 1962 making the railway tracks. Then he started working at Park Plaza Hotel from 1962-64 as a kitchen assistant and maintenance worker. I remember receiving my first Barbie doll at their Christmas party for the family members of the employees. In May 1964, my mom gave birth to my brother Joe. She had to go back to work to help with the expenses. My father looked for a job that would allow him to stay home during the day and work during the night. That was when he started working for Adelaide Maintenance Ltd as a maintenance worker. He stayed home with my brother during the day and went to work in the evening. My sister and I would be home from school before he went to work and we would care for my brother before my mom came home. He worked at Adelaide in 1972, when he was offered a day job at Celebrity Club as a kitchen assistant. When Celebrity Club closed in 1980, he got a job at the University of Toronto Hart House, which he thought was the best job he had. He worked there until he retired in July 1990.

When we arrived in Toronto, my dad was living at 42 Follis with my mom's niece and family. We stayed there from April 1963 - 1965. When then moved to Markham Street, then to 181 Baldwin Avenue, then to 295 Augusta Avenue, then in Sept 1967, my parents bought 42 Follis from Cristovao Cabral, where we stayed until May 30, 2003, when the house was sold to Amparo Cardenas - mom passed away April 7, 2003 - dad moved to 140 Bathurst Street to a condo. Dad passed away July 2006.

David Ryan wrote a poem for my parents when my dad was moving to the condo - he was and is a truly great neighbour - the poem, Joe and Belmira's Tears was published in a poem book.

As David Ryan said, the poem was written years ago. Jose and Belmira came from Portugal and helped to build the city. Back home in Azores, they had a little orchard with trees that each bore three kinds of fruit - oranges, lemons and tangerines, Jose and Belmira grafted that little orchard, brought that knowledge to Canada and Canada became their home. They were very happy here, their family continues to contribute to our city and they were terrific neighbours.

My brother Joe Fumo (Joey to me and my sister) could not have anything written about my parents without adding his view - To say that we were very lucky to have parents like we did would be an understatement. Knowing my parents was to know how to laugh, to enjoy the little things in life and to never go to sleep angry. I will always remember my parents with fond memories of them being there for us, my mom always having something good cooking, and whenever she was cooking you would get the added bonus of hearing her sing while she worked. In the summer months, mom would often be outside talking to neighbours, or cooking something to share with them, or just simply enjoying the evening while sitting on the veranda with a cup of coffee. My parents taught me to be honest and true and that to have faith is to have it all. My Dad always told me to be respectful of women, as he was always very respectful of my Mom. I thank him for that because this is something I am now teaching my son - Joe Fumo. -------------

I met my future mother-in-law, Belmira Fumo, for the first time on Thanksgiving in 1986. From the moment I walked into the house on 42 Follis, I felt welcomed and loved by one of the kindest and most wonderful women it has ever been my privilege to know. My sogra (mother-in-law) had a special gift - one that transcended the boundaries of language. I remember that I was nervous about meeting her that day, afraid that we wouldn't be able to communicate because I couldn't speak Portuguese and my sogra's English was limited, but our first conversation was filled with much laughter, gesturing and the beginning of a bond of love between us that would never be broken. In the almost 20 years that Sogra was a part of my life, I witnessed firsthand the effect she had on people all around her. She treated everyone she met with great respect and kindness, and her smile touched the hearts of many, many people. She will always be remembered as a great lady, wise beyond measure and with a loving heart beyond compare. She will be forever missed. - Angie Cvecich Fumo.