Hilda (Pacheco) Leitao

Hilda (Pacheco) Leitao, better known to all as Auntie Rea, passed away at 99 peacefully at the Phillip Hulitar Hospice Center surrounded by family on Friday, December 15, 2017. She was born in East Providence, a daughter of the late Manuel R. and Virginia C. (Camera) Pacheco where she remained a resident for her entire life. The love of her life, the late Joseph F. Leitao of East Providence, shared her love of travel, family, and entertaining, which she has passed on to all those who know and love her. She was a faithful parishioner of St. Francis Xavier Church in East Providence and a proud member of Uniao Portuguesa Beneficente. She was a floor lady for American Textile Company for more than 37 years and worked at B.A. Ballou for 10 years, where she gained lifelong friends.

Though Hilda did not have children, she became the matriarch of her family offering wisdom, faithfulness, compassion, and acted as caretaker to so many who needed support and love. Her easily recognizable beige Grand Marquis was the welcomed vessel transporting friends and family to every event, practice, dinner dates, and nights out on the town. If her car was in the parking lot, you knew it was the place to be. She loved to cook her authentic Portuguese recipes that will always be impossible to replicate. Her joy was most found when spending time with and traveling with her family whether to Martha’s Vineyard or Cape Cod in the summer, or the many adventurous bus tours she and her sister-in-law, the late Mary K. (Medeiros) Pacheco embarked on together and always coming back with a funny story to tell. She loved every single person she met, treated them with the most kindness you could imagine, always putting herself last. To say her family and friends will miss her bright personality and spunk for life would be an understatement, but to know she is reunited with her husband who she spoke of every day is something we will treasure forever.

She is survived by her sister, Dudater White, several nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great great nieces and nephews. She was the sister of the late James Pacheco and Edmund Pacheco.

Her funeral will be held on Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 at 9:00am from the Perry-McStay Funeral Home, 2555 Pawtucket Avenue, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00am in St. Francis Xavier Church, North Carpenter Street, East Providence. Burial will be in Mount St. Mary’s Cemetery. Calling hours Tuesday from 4-8pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Impossible Dream, 575 Centerville Road, Warwick RI 02888 or the Hope & Faith Drive LLC, 18 Intervale Avenue, East Prov., RI 02914 would be appreciated.