Obituary of Izaura Ribeiro Xerfan

Izaura Xerfan aka (Dona Eunice) was a resident of Belém do Pará-Brasil and of Elizabeth N.J., passed away on January 11th, she was 93. Born and raised in Belém do Pará in northern Brasil, Izaura (Dona Eunice) was the oldest of three children. Despite being orphaned at a very young age and raised by her mother's sister, she managed to find love and happiness throughout her hard daily life. She was the mother of seven children: José, Eunice, Graça, Felipe, Jorge, Jesus and Ricardo who was born blind. Although she had very little, she lived very humbly in a one room home where she managed to raise all of her seven children. For many years she slept on the ground so her two youngest children (Jesus and Ricardo) could share her hammock, on the second hammock slept (Felipe and Jorge) and along her side slept the three oldest of her children José, Eunice and Graça. Dona Eunice (Izaura) worked as a seamstress for 25 years and walked miles to work and back home to provide for her children. Dona Eunice was known as; "The humble and giving neighbor" by friends and family. She never complained nor liked confrontation; However, she was very honest and straight forward, always fighting for justice to her core. She always said to her children and grandchildren that: "The biggest treasures in life are not things." - "The biggest treasure and the most important things in life are: being honest, respectful, of good character, a giver, loving and a hard worker." All seven of her children went on to have happy, humble lives while building their own strong families. In 1970 Dona Eunice sent her daughter Maria Eunice to the U.S., Eunice went on to become a very successful independent woman and married to Manoel Esteves also from Belém do Pará. After 15 years of living in the U.S. Maria Eunice became an American Citizen. She returned to Brasil to reunite with her mother and siblings and to build her mother's first house, where Dona Eunice lived with her daughter Graça and three grandchildren (Guilherme, Fábio and Silvia). At the home they would celebrate many holidays, birthdays and family weekend reunions, which made Dona Eunice (Izaura) the happiest person in the world, she loved to have all of her children and grandchildren together. In 1990 Dona Eunice came to America to visit with her daughter and become an American Citizen herself, she then went on to live 6 months in Brasil and 6 months in America for the remaining 30 years of her life. One of grandma’s favorite quotes was, "America is for everyone; However, not everyone is for America." Her granddaughter Silvia at age 11 asked; What do you mean by that grandma? She then replied; It means: If you are lazy, you will fail, but if you work hard and be honest you'll have a bright and successful life in America. Silvia replied; I want to go with you. In 1995 Silvia came to the U.S. and went on to have a beautiful family and being very successful, she followed her aunt Maria Eunice's foot steps. Silvia then brought her mother to the U.S. in 2017. Dona Eunice (Izaura) was well loved and cared by both her daughter’s, Maria Eunice, Graça, her granddaughter Silvia as well as her son-in- law Manoel Esteves and family closed friends. Dona Eunice (Izaura) left a great legacy. She was known to her family and friends as "The Warrior." Never giving up from fighting for a good life and good living. She is survived by her 86 year old sister, seven children, nineteen grand children, eighteen great grandchildren, four great great grandchildren, four generation of family and friends. She was predeceased by her brother Lorival by 42 years and her great grandson Rodrigo by three months. Grandma will be brought home to be laid to rest at her ancestral home, we have all been blessed to have had her in our lives. We will miss you and hold you in our hearts forever. Kindly, The Xerfan Family