Maria (Reis) Mira

Maria Lurdes Mira, age 87, passed away peacefully on the evening of December 23, 2020 at the Carolina Reserve of Hendersonville Memory Care facility. Born on December 5, 1933 in the small village of Alge in the mountain province of Serra da Lousa in Portugal, Maria would soon move to Lisbon where she would spend the better part of her formative years. At the age of 14, Maria developed a strong vocational proficiency as an accomplished seamstress.

In 1950, Maria had a chance encounter with a young man taking a lunch break from his job at a car radio repair shop.  The young man’s name was Manuel Sousa Mira. In December 1952, Manuel, looking for a better future, emigrated to Brazil. Courtship via letters began culminating with an overseas proposal.  On January 10th, 1954 Maria made the decision to marry Manuel by proxy while still living in Lisbon, and shortly thereafter she left the only country she had ever known to join her new husband in Brazil.  This marriage would take the young couple from Brazil to Canada and eventually the United States where they would live out their dream of familial and financial success.  This marriage would endure until Manuel’s death in 2017.        

Of all of her achievements, however, none would prove to be as great as the influence that she had in the raising of her family.  Maria was unique in that she served a principal role in raising not only her own two children, Carlos and Teresa, but also her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well.  Maria’s love, manifested over several generations, would prove to be the sustaining force of the extended family for many years.  This sustaining influence was even evident in her signature dishes which became legendary within the family.  Whether it be her fish stew known as caldeirada, her shrimp cakes known as rissois, or her boiled dinner known as cozido, the primary function of all of these dishes was to bring her family together in unity and love.      

The family would like to especially thank the nurses and caregivers that were there for Maria over the course of the past several years.  We can never truly express the gratitude we have for the help you provided to our family. 

Maria Lurdes Mira was preceded in death by her husband, Manuel Mira.  She is survived by her two children, Carlos Mira (Sheila) and Teresa Mira Knippel (John); six grandchildren, Wesley Mira (Tatiana), John Mira-Knippel (Karmen), Melissa Faetz (Tyler), Ryan Mira, Michelle Mira, and Kimberly Pinkston (Jesse); and twelve great grandchildren, Braxton Mira-Knippel, Savannah Mira-Knippel, Dominic Faetz, Patrick Faetz, Alexandre Mira, Elizabeth Mira, Leila Pinkston, Larkin Pinkston, Sage Pinkston, Eleanor Hoefer, Kendall Reis, Kamden Reis.

A small ceremony with immediate family took place at Bryant-Grant Funeral Home on December 30, 2020.   Bryant-Grant Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Mira family. Online condolences may be made at bryantgrantfuneralhome.com

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