Cora Medeiros

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Cora Medeiros died on Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 8, 2016, surrounded by her loving family at her home in Vineyard Haven.

Her daughter Joan wrote the following remarks, delivered by her son David, at her services held on Saturday, May 14, at St. Augustine’s Church in Vineyard Haven, prior to burial in Oak Grove Cemetery in Vineyard Haven where she was laid to rest beside her husband Raul and her son Steven:

“Well, we have to say that writing about Mom, although easy because it was ‘Mom,’ was challenging because it was Mom!

“We knew it would take forever to mention all that she gave and did for not just us — her kids — but her friends, her neighbors, all the school kids when we were growing up, her many colleagues through the years, whether in business or in the making of a better town for all of us. The elderly community always had a special place in Mom’s heart, and she knew they needed a place to call their own, so with great effort she put herself to work to build the Tisbury Senior Center. She found the land, designed the building, obtained state funding to insure there was no cost to the taxpayers, and was on the phone constantly with Senator Ted Kennedy to make it all happen.

“So much pride, love, and dedication went into her family, her home, her business, her town, and the many people who surrounded her life. To be touched by the hand of Cora was a blessing, and one that no one took lightly — unless of course you were one of her kids and totally messed up — but for others, it was always done in a way which was much more than anyone expected, and humbling to so many who shared in the unconditional love given from the great lady that we called Mom.

“Growing up in our household was challenging at times, when you had nine people fighting over one bathroom! Yes, it’s true that Mom only gave birth to six of us, but we don’t ever remember not having an extra relative in the mix. All it took was for Mom to have one of her brainstorms, and the next minute she was having Dad throw up a few plywood walls in the basement, making a makeshift room for one of our off-Island cousins or a visiting friend who was staying for the summer.

“No household with this many kids existed without a few fights among us, or a few daredevils. Mom got so used to it so that whenever we went just a bit too far — like playing Superman off the top of the garage and someone split a lip, was profusely bleeding, or had partially amputated body parts — she would calmly pull a cloth out of the kitchen drawer, wet it, slap it on the spot and say, ‘Hold it! Get in the car!’ And off we’d go to see Doc Frisch to get a few stitches.

“On every Fourth of July, she would dress us all in costumes and stick us on a float fighting for something new that the town needed, unless of course you got old enough so that she couldn’t catch you! Sharing our home was just a part of the many things that touched all of our lives.

From Thanksgiving, when there was always a place set at the table for any police officer who was working on the holiday to stop in to have a real Thanksgiving dinner, to meeting the governor sitting at the kitchen table laughing with Mom, the house was never quiet; something was happening all the time.

“When my brother Steven decided he wanted to play football, it was all good, until Mom heard that the athletic department didn’t have the funds for new uniforms and a team bus, and here we go! Next thing you know, she had the building department at the high school erecting a shed on the football field. She got equipment donated, and we stuffed more bags of popcorn and potato chips, frosted more cupcakes, than you could ever imagine, and then froze our assets off because like her, we were expected to work the booth and serve the fans who were here for the games. There was no stopping the drive and the spirit she had when she was determined to make something happen. She even brought the Harlem Globetrotters to town to raise money for the kids at school; and she created and ran the Tisbury Street Fair to raise money needed for the fire department or the Police Relief Association to buy equipment without raising the town’s taxes.

“When Mom ran for selectman and became the first woman in the history of the town of Tisbury to hold that position, like everything she touched she did it proud! In the 17 years she served as selectman, she moved and shook this town, creating jobs, lowering taxes, making sure that our town had the same as any other, to meet the needs of the people, and saving a dollar on it whenever possible. She wasn’t afraid to step up and challenge a wrong, or make a trip down to Washington when they were giving out funds that she knew would better the town and save the taxpayers’ money, and didn’t stop there.

“Between taking care of family and running her businesses, helping our dad run his, directing us kids, taking in an extra kid in the house, or making enough potato salad and baked beans to feed the town twice over, she was running a newspaper column called ‘The Tisbury Watchdog.’ She made sure that every resident in the town of Tisbury was informed of all that was going on with the running of their town, encouraging residents to get out and vote, speak up, get involved, as you have a voice and this is your town!

“Mom had a great sense of humor, and loved to laugh and hear a good joke. On a good night when Steven came up for a visit, he’d take the floor and have Mom falling out of her chair. She was a diehard Patriots fan, and with her boy Brady, she would never miss a game. She wasn’t much for drinking, and never picked up a cigarette except when she dressed up like Phyllis Diller to take us kids trick-or-treating. Taking a trip off-Island was a favorite, as there was nothing better than a good shopping spree. As she started to retire, a trip to Foxwoods was always a great time, and she could never pass up a good game of bingo.

“Mom had an uncanny way of knowing what people needed, who needed it, and how to get the job done that was untouchable. She was a driving force who was felt and admired by many and respected by all. To try and follow in her footsteps, as her children, was huge.

“She left no stone unturned to find that silver lining of happiness for someone she loved or cared about. She was Mom to so many, but she was all ours, and we couldn’t have been prouder.”

Cora Medeiros was predeceased by her husband Raul Medeiros Jr. and her son Steven Medeiros of Kennesaw, Ga. She leaves behind her son Paul Medeiros and his wife Laurie of Vineyard Haven, her daughter Joan Medeiros and her wife Anne of Webster, N.H., her daughter Kathy Rogers and her husband James of Vineyard Haven, her son David Medeiros of Edgartown, her daughter Gayla Medeiros and her partner Martin Moreis of Oak Bluff: 12 grandchildren, Kara and Morgan Medeiros, Mathew and Kate Medeiros, Joanne Ritter and Steven Anderson, Adam and Jeremie Rogers, Ashley, Cory, and Amber Medeiros, and Maxwell Moreis; and two great-grandchildren, William Raul Ritter and Jaxson Tyler Anderson.