Obituary for Fernando Henriques
In Memoriam
Fernando Henriques
May 29, 1926-September 20, 2016.
By every measure of the man, this memorial for Fernando Henriques is meant to be a celebration and not a mourning. My father, were he with us now (and I believe he is!) would have insisted upon it. His life was a celebration. He embraced it as a brother. He honored it as a dutiful son would his mother, with integrity and respect. And he took it to his heart as a lover with all the passion that was in him to express.
He did that with everything he undertook and everyone he met. And in that passion for living, Fernando was what many would describe as, “a high life-force human being.”
In every sense of the word, his life was a testament to excellence, to new adventures and to pushing the envelope. And it was that constant drive to excel that brought him over from a tiny village in Portugal to flourish in Canada’s major metropolis, Toronto.
Fernando was born in Silva Escura, Portugal on the 29th of May in 1926, the second of five sons and two daughters born to Agostinho and Maria Joaquina Henriques. And even as a young boy he was recognized as being bold, ambitious and “full of fun.”
Shortly after his father Agostinho passed away in his mid-forties, Fernando was drafted into the Portuguese military when he was 19 years old. Making the most of his two-years of obligatory service, young Fernando learned to drive and got his driver’s license. (This is something we take for granted now, but in 1945 in Portugal when less than 20% of the population even had cars, this was quite an achievement.) So this important professional skill led to my father’s being promoted to official permanent chauffeur for one of the Portuguese Army’s top Generals. It also led Fernando to an early career as a professional driver as well as a passion for cars that carried on for the rest of his life.
It was his gift for swift but accurate decisions and following his (impeccable) instincts that led to his courtship with the “love of his life,’ Clarice Marques Pereira. Clarice, a beautiful young woman, lived in a nearby village; and utterly captured my father’s heart. And if it was not love at first sight, it was something very close. Eight months after Clarice and Fernando had met in 1949, they married on the 1st of July in 1950. About 10 ½ months later, Clarice gave birth to their first son Mario on May 19, 1951, and two years later to their second son, Albert was born on May 9, 1953.
Along with his ability to make smart decisions, Fernando Henriques possessed a remarkable ability to envision the future ... and with that knack came a refusal to accept life on its own terms. That led to a daring move to make a better life for his family—leaving the familiar world of his small village and daring all the future had to offer in the new world … of Canada!
Keeping his goals and objective firmly in mind, Fernando began saving money until he had pocketed enough to make the 2 week ocean voyage to Canada in 1955 where he immediately saw the future and how to interweave his personal destiny with this bold new world.
Working day and night to reunite with his wife and children, Fernando took less than 2 years to bring over his young family to North America, and soon he and Clarice welcomed their third son Agostinho, into the world in 1957 and finally their daughter Maria in 1959.
With his penchant for moving quickly, Fernando Henriques made several career leaps forward from first working on a farm in Quebec to a railway company in Sarnia then finally to his métier in Toronto where he soon became foreman in a factory that manufactured inks.
My father pursued every job he ever held with both commitment and integrity. But he was always his own man and, by nature, an entrepreneur whose passion for new challenges could never be denied. For that reason, in the early 1970s, he took all he’d learned and all he’d earned in the first 20 years and applied the synergy of both to start his own manufacturing company. Originally, Fernando had a business partner to help fund the operation. Then realizing control over one’s own destiny is the final declaration of independence, in 1977, he allowed his partner to buy out his shares and cash in. Rebooting in 1978, this time with a new company funded by “keeping it in the family,” Fernando partnered with his children to create a new entity – F.H. & Sons Manufacturing Ltd.—a company created with love and built with faith that is still flourishing after 38 years!
As much as he gave absolute integrity and commitment to his profession and to the successes of his business, he matched it with a level of pure joy and enthusiasm for every other aspect of his life. If one could describe Fernando Henriques’ approach to life in a single term, it would be “Follow Your Heart.” And though he may not have created the term, “Go big, or go home!” he certainly inspired it.
In the spirit of the true entrepreneur, my father never hesitated to step out of his comfort zone. His life was a testament to excellence. It wasn’t a way of showing off. It was his way of saying, “Why compromise? Why settle for less than life has to offer?” And he never did.
From everything I can recall about him, his vocabulary of achievement always included the words “First.” And “Best!” And that is the way I remember everything about our family and what he brought to it.
The Henriques family was the first amongst our peers to install air conditioning in our home, the first in our neighborhood to have a colour TV, and the first family in Toronto in the 1970s to buy a Japanese car – from some small little known Osaka Company called…Toyota. No question, my father loved cars – new ones – and he always bought a new car every couple of years. He loved to drive, and drove until the age of 89. It can be said that he drove through life, at full throttle!
As further testimony to my father’s talents and diversity was his ability as a viticulturist – that’s a winemaker! We say that, because every year my father made wine—not just homemade wine, but vineyard quality wine. And every single recipient of this phenomenal vintage was amazed at the quality, taste and integrity of the pressing. And of course, Fernando wasn’t the least protective of his secrets. (In fact just last year he taught his grandson Daniel, on how to make wine, and of course it was an amazing barrel that has everyone who has tasted Daniel’s wine, interested in making some themselves!)
Even though he would be the first to reject the term “Patriarch” to describe himself, our dear dad was just the kind of man to whom people naturally gravitated. Growing up in our home, one became accustomed to it becoming the Friday Night meeting place where friends and extended family often came over for great food, card games or watching sports events. In that way and so many others, Fernando was a magnet for activity, social gatherings and far too many happy memories to enumerate on these few paltry pages.
Above all else my father was a source of strength to us all—the Fountainhead of all that was good about life. One truly could not begin to count the number of people whose lives he changed, whose financial fortunes he infused and revived through generosity and no recourse loans, whose children he inspired through good example and whose kindness overflowed with every gesture.
There is no replacing a man like this—one can only remember and embrace everything he meant to this small corner of the world. Life will never be quite the same without him. But for 90 glorious years, it was a better life and a better world for his having been in it.
The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that, “The purpose of life is not just to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. That is the true source of greatness.”
Fernando had all that—a one-of-a-kind human being that we only meet once in a lifetime.
Goodbye papa. You may be gone, but you will never leave us. The angel of your boundless spirit inspires us all through the days.
~ Maria Morgis
With Mario Henriques, Albert P. Henriques wife Dianne children Benjamin Henriques (wife Laura and son Justin) and Julia Henriques, Agostinho F. Henriques, Edward J. Morgis children Clarice Morgis-Janes and Daniel P. Morgis (wife Laura).
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God called Fernando peacefully on Tuesday September 20, 2016 at the age of 90. He will be forever missed by his loving wife, Clarice. Cherished by his dear children, Mario, Albert (Dianne), Augustin and Maria (Edward Morgis). Proud grandfather to Benjamin (Laura), Julia, Clarice and Daniel (Laura) and by his great-grandson Justin. He will be forever missed by his sister Ceu (Augusto predeceased). He will be held dear in the hearts of his family, relatives, and many friends. Visitations will take place at the Vescio Funeral Home Woodbridge Chapel (8101 Weston Rd. 905-850-3332) on Friday September 23, 2016 from 2-4 p.m., and 6-9 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday September 24, 2016 at 9:00 a.m., at St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church (8500 Islington Ave., south of Langstaff Rd.). Cremation to follow. If so desired, donations in memory of Fernando may be made to William Osler Health System - Etobicoke General Hospital.
Fernando Henriques
May 29, 1926-September 20, 2016.
By every measure of the man, this memorial for Fernando Henriques is meant to be a celebration and not a mourning. My father, were he with us now (and I believe he is!) would have insisted upon it. His life was a celebration. He embraced it as a brother. He honored it as a dutiful son would his mother, with integrity and respect. And he took it to his heart as a lover with all the passion that was in him to express.
He did that with everything he undertook and everyone he met. And in that passion for living, Fernando was what many would describe as, “a high life-force human being.”
In every sense of the word, his life was a testament to excellence, to new adventures and to pushing the envelope. And it was that constant drive to excel that brought him over from a tiny village in Portugal to flourish in Canada’s major metropolis, Toronto.
Fernando was born in Silva Escura, Portugal on the 29th of May in 1926, the second of five sons and two daughters born to Agostinho and Maria Joaquina Henriques. And even as a young boy he was recognized as being bold, ambitious and “full of fun.”
Shortly after his father Agostinho passed away in his mid-forties, Fernando was drafted into the Portuguese military when he was 19 years old. Making the most of his two-years of obligatory service, young Fernando learned to drive and got his driver’s license. (This is something we take for granted now, but in 1945 in Portugal when less than 20% of the population even had cars, this was quite an achievement.) So this important professional skill led to my father’s being promoted to official permanent chauffeur for one of the Portuguese Army’s top Generals. It also led Fernando to an early career as a professional driver as well as a passion for cars that carried on for the rest of his life.
It was his gift for swift but accurate decisions and following his (impeccable) instincts that led to his courtship with the “love of his life,’ Clarice Marques Pereira. Clarice, a beautiful young woman, lived in a nearby village; and utterly captured my father’s heart. And if it was not love at first sight, it was something very close. Eight months after Clarice and Fernando had met in 1949, they married on the 1st of July in 1950. About 10 ½ months later, Clarice gave birth to their first son Mario on May 19, 1951, and two years later to their second son, Albert was born on May 9, 1953.
Along with his ability to make smart decisions, Fernando Henriques possessed a remarkable ability to envision the future ... and with that knack came a refusal to accept life on its own terms. That led to a daring move to make a better life for his family—leaving the familiar world of his small village and daring all the future had to offer in the new world … of Canada!
Keeping his goals and objective firmly in mind, Fernando began saving money until he had pocketed enough to make the 2 week ocean voyage to Canada in 1955 where he immediately saw the future and how to interweave his personal destiny with this bold new world.
Working day and night to reunite with his wife and children, Fernando took less than 2 years to bring over his young family to North America, and soon he and Clarice welcomed their third son Agostinho, into the world in 1957 and finally their daughter Maria in 1959.
With his penchant for moving quickly, Fernando Henriques made several career leaps forward from first working on a farm in Quebec to a railway company in Sarnia then finally to his métier in Toronto where he soon became foreman in a factory that manufactured inks.
My father pursued every job he ever held with both commitment and integrity. But he was always his own man and, by nature, an entrepreneur whose passion for new challenges could never be denied. For that reason, in the early 1970s, he took all he’d learned and all he’d earned in the first 20 years and applied the synergy of both to start his own manufacturing company. Originally, Fernando had a business partner to help fund the operation. Then realizing control over one’s own destiny is the final declaration of independence, in 1977, he allowed his partner to buy out his shares and cash in. Rebooting in 1978, this time with a new company funded by “keeping it in the family,” Fernando partnered with his children to create a new entity – F.H. & Sons Manufacturing Ltd.—a company created with love and built with faith that is still flourishing after 38 years!
As much as he gave absolute integrity and commitment to his profession and to the successes of his business, he matched it with a level of pure joy and enthusiasm for every other aspect of his life. If one could describe Fernando Henriques’ approach to life in a single term, it would be “Follow Your Heart.” And though he may not have created the term, “Go big, or go home!” he certainly inspired it.
In the spirit of the true entrepreneur, my father never hesitated to step out of his comfort zone. His life was a testament to excellence. It wasn’t a way of showing off. It was his way of saying, “Why compromise? Why settle for less than life has to offer?” And he never did.
From everything I can recall about him, his vocabulary of achievement always included the words “First.” And “Best!” And that is the way I remember everything about our family and what he brought to it.
The Henriques family was the first amongst our peers to install air conditioning in our home, the first in our neighborhood to have a colour TV, and the first family in Toronto in the 1970s to buy a Japanese car – from some small little known Osaka Company called…Toyota. No question, my father loved cars – new ones – and he always bought a new car every couple of years. He loved to drive, and drove until the age of 89. It can be said that he drove through life, at full throttle!
As further testimony to my father’s talents and diversity was his ability as a viticulturist – that’s a winemaker! We say that, because every year my father made wine—not just homemade wine, but vineyard quality wine. And every single recipient of this phenomenal vintage was amazed at the quality, taste and integrity of the pressing. And of course, Fernando wasn’t the least protective of his secrets. (In fact just last year he taught his grandson Daniel, on how to make wine, and of course it was an amazing barrel that has everyone who has tasted Daniel’s wine, interested in making some themselves!)
Even though he would be the first to reject the term “Patriarch” to describe himself, our dear dad was just the kind of man to whom people naturally gravitated. Growing up in our home, one became accustomed to it becoming the Friday Night meeting place where friends and extended family often came over for great food, card games or watching sports events. In that way and so many others, Fernando was a magnet for activity, social gatherings and far too many happy memories to enumerate on these few paltry pages.
Above all else my father was a source of strength to us all—the Fountainhead of all that was good about life. One truly could not begin to count the number of people whose lives he changed, whose financial fortunes he infused and revived through generosity and no recourse loans, whose children he inspired through good example and whose kindness overflowed with every gesture.
There is no replacing a man like this—one can only remember and embrace everything he meant to this small corner of the world. Life will never be quite the same without him. But for 90 glorious years, it was a better life and a better world for his having been in it.
The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that, “The purpose of life is not just to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. That is the true source of greatness.”
Fernando had all that—a one-of-a-kind human being that we only meet once in a lifetime.
Goodbye papa. You may be gone, but you will never leave us. The angel of your boundless spirit inspires us all through the days.
~ Maria Morgis
With Mario Henriques, Albert P. Henriques wife Dianne children Benjamin Henriques (wife Laura and son Justin) and Julia Henriques, Agostinho F. Henriques, Edward J. Morgis children Clarice Morgis-Janes and Daniel P. Morgis (wife Laura).
--------------
God called Fernando peacefully on Tuesday September 20, 2016 at the age of 90. He will be forever missed by his loving wife, Clarice. Cherished by his dear children, Mario, Albert (Dianne), Augustin and Maria (Edward Morgis). Proud grandfather to Benjamin (Laura), Julia, Clarice and Daniel (Laura) and by his great-grandson Justin. He will be forever missed by his sister Ceu (Augusto predeceased). He will be held dear in the hearts of his family, relatives, and many friends. Visitations will take place at the Vescio Funeral Home Woodbridge Chapel (8101 Weston Rd. 905-850-3332) on Friday September 23, 2016 from 2-4 p.m., and 6-9 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday September 24, 2016 at 9:00 a.m., at St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church (8500 Islington Ave., south of Langstaff Rd.). Cremation to follow. If so desired, donations in memory of Fernando may be made to William Osler Health System - Etobicoke General Hospital.