Obituary of Mr. Joseph Bernard Perreira

Passed peacefully in his sleep November 19, 2020 at Lakeridge Health Oshawa.  Bernard is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Rose and children, Bernardine (and Marja-Liisa), Keith (and Marilyn) and Alison (and Kevin) and his five grandchildren.  He will be missed by his surviving siblings Dennis, Thecla, Carmel, Dolores, Imelda, many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, cousins and friends. 

Bernard was born in Moruka, British Guiana to an Amerindian Mother and a Portuguese Father.    He was immensely proud of his heritage.   He was the eldest of eight siblings.  They grew up on the Pomeroon River.  He had many tales of his somewhat idyllic childhood, climbing coconut trees, hunting for agouti, fishing for basa, catching crabs, canoeing to school and of the adventures he had with his brother Dennis.

He loved to dance and was a very good dancer.  He spent his teenage years learning the latest dance moves and could waltz, cha cha, jitterbug and of course being from the Caribbean, he could dance calypso.

Bernard met Rose when he was in his early twenties and he was smitten.  They wed in 1954 and knew each other for a few years before that.  Theirs is a relationship that spanned seven decades.  Together they had three children and to their delight five grand-children.

Family was important to Bernard.  He loved nothing more than spending time with his siblings and other family members.  Most weekends were spent visiting family members or entertaining them at home.  Most travel centred around visiting family or friends from back home.

He took after his mother with his love of gardening.  He kept a beautiful rose garden and lovingly maintained this and all his other flowers and plants.  He could often be found sweeping his walkway with his pointer broom.  Bernard played field hockey in his earlier days and took up golf in his retirement, famously scoring 2 holes in one!

Bernard was a dedicated volunteer with St Vincent de Paul.  He would stand outside St. Barnabas church, rain, snow, cold or heat and ask people to “remember the poor”.  He served as treasurer and president and inspired many other parishioners to take up the cause.

Bernard was enormously proud of his work in the insurance field and though he officially retired at age 65 he continued to work until he was 79.  Here is some text from a glowing letter of reference that he kept, written for him when he was departing Guyana in 1963 : “I can testify to the excellent character of Mr. Joseph Bernard Perreira who has been employed by this company from 1953.  He has resigned to proceed to Canada to better his position.  He has been diligent and intelligent in the execution of the duties assigned to him.”  When Bernard arrived in Canada he quickly found employment.  He developed an impressive professional network of adjusters and lawyers often having lunch and drinks with his “buddies”.

After so many years of hard work and success, he seemed to long for a simpler life, he often said he wanted to move back to Guyana.  He never acted on this wish but had many happy return visits to Guyana.

Bernard had a quick wit and a good sense of comic timing.  He had many one liners that he’ll be remembered for.  Here's one example:  If he arrived at someone’s house and they weren’t quick enough to offer him a drink he would ask – “Is there a drought?”

Sadly, over the last ten years Bernard suffered from dementia.  Fortunately for family members, he still recognized them, and he maintained his sense of humour and most elements of his personality.  He delighted family members with his famous expressions and jokes.  He loved to play with language and would often slip a few Spanish, Hindu or Arabic words into the mix.  He would often greet people with  salamu alaykum - an Islamic greeting meaning “Peace be upon you”.  He loved to sing and in recent years his constant repertoire consisted of songs like – “Bicycle built for two”, “And the band played on”, “Que sera” and extended versions of “La cucaracha”.