Edwin Saldanha

> From: nancy
> To: barreto rene
> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 9:44 PM
> Subject: Edwin Saldanha
>
>
> Dear Rene,
>
> Yesterday my husband Edwin and I attended the funeral
> service of Edwin Saldanha at Mae de Deus Church, Saligao,
> the father of Kevin Saldanha of Canada. The church was
> quite full with Dr.Wilfred de Souza also present. His
> brother, Fr.Ernest and nephew, Fr. Dominic were among the
> concelebrants of the Holy Mass. The Scouts community gave
> him a formal farewell as he was the Ex-Commissioner for
> Scouts for Goa.
>

Funeral Mass for Edwin Saldanha 16.8.07 Saligao

I Reading: 1 Cor. 15. 51-57. We will be transformed….
Gospel: Jn. 11: 17-27. I am the Resurrection and the
Life….

Introduction:

+ A very warm welcome to each of you present here.

+ We have gathered here this evening to bid farewell
to “dad”: that’s what he was to his children ….
Yvette, Kevin, Patsy, Jenny, Daphne.
….. to bid farewell to “irmao” that’s what he was
for his brother, Fr. Saldanha here, and his sisters,
my mom Lira and aunt Bertha.

An inspirational pillar of his generation passes on .

Whilst I was was never a student of his , I did have the pleasure of knowing his immediate family especially Yvette , Kevin, Patsy who are more or less of my generation, as also his nephews/nieces Dean , Kenneth et al. to name but a few .

dilip dacruz Tue, Aug 14, 2007 at 7:42 AM
To: saligaonet@goacom.org

Thought I'd post a note from my 'big brother', Pralad:

"Don't know how to write my thoughts about Edwin's death. He was a really genuine guy. So cool, he would give a rare perspective on things whenever I dropped in to talk to him - which, by the way, I did without fail whenever I was in Goa. The article you sent me dwelt at length on his wine

(This tribute was read by Hilda Carneiro at the reception in the church hall)

A letter for my dad, Eddy
August 10, 2007

My darling dad Eddy,

(This tribute was read by Dr. Brenda Menezes at the reception in the church hall)

My darling dad,

I find it so hard to accept that this is going to be my final goodbye to you. For some odd reason, I could never bring myself to believe that I would reach this point, although of course it was inevitable -
as we all know. If we are born, we die... I guess there's no getting away from that!

(This tribute was read by her friend, Joanna, after communion during the funeral service on Aug. 16th, 2007)

Dad taught us how to live; his zest for life translated into an infectious enthusiasm for learning and trying out new things even as he approached 90. He said to me very recently "So long as you have the desire to learn, you are young!" This is what kept him truly alive.

Dear Reverend Fathers, Sisters, relatives and friends,

I wanted to thank you all for being here with Diggy and myself today to celebrate the gracious liberation of our Dad from the suffering he endured over the last few weeks due to a diabetic complications of a wound on his foot that he refused to have amputated. It was his wish, at 89 years of age, that he would make his exit with limbs intact. He understood well the limitations of modern medicine to aid the quality rather than the quantity of his life and refused to be coerced into an uncertain, bed-ridden future. I’m also here to speak on behalf of my wife, Lisette, and children, Alex and Emerald who have fond memories of their Grandpa Eddie and very much wanted to be here today. I will also convey messages from my sisters Yvette, Patsy and Jenny and their families.

Edwin Saldanha started off as my "Uncle Eddie" and ended up as my "Dad".

Our relationship started in my early childhood when our families became good friends in Nakuru. Later my father would be transferred to Nairobi, but the friendship would outlive all other changes in our lives. Dad and I were destined to be in each other's lives until his passing away. From the start we had a unique relationship, and he would later tell me that as a child I called him "Uncle Daddy" and he would recall it with that inimitable twinkle in his eyes.

[By Frederick Noronha] He has played many roles in life: scout-master, artist, teacher, a Jesuit... but none so unusual as that of being a wine-maker. Edwin Saldanha's book on the subject, which he penned without much thought due to the badgering of some friends, has not only entered a second edition but also promises to block no secrets about this unusual art.