Manuel Dosantos Simao

A true immigrant story.

He came to this country from Portugal, to Massachusetts, where he and my mom started a family. They had 5 children. My dad worked construction jobs, my mom a seamstress.

As life would have it, my parents decided to start a new life in California. My dad came to California and we stayed in Massachusetts. He found a job as a cobbler, a trade he learned in Portugal, and stayed with friends.

When he saved enough money, he flew my mom and the 5 kids to California. He rented a 1-bedroom house with a 1-car garage. He had 2 sets of bunk beds in the garage for the 4 boys. My sister slept in my folks’ bedroom.

My dad would take the bus to work at the shoe repair shop. We had no car, so we’d walk everywhere. One day we were walking after we went shopping, all 7 of us, down Mission Blvd. In Hayward, everyone carrying something. We were walking in front of a car dealership when a salesman came out and said, “Looks like you need a car.” My dad replied without skipping a beat, “I have 2 cars at home but I like to walk.” “That’s my dad.”

As time went on, my dad bought his first car in California. A 1962 Ford Falcon, and yes, all 7 of us would ride in it. He eventually bought his 1st shoe repair shop and a station wagon.

My dad worked 6 days a week—but on Sundays he would always take us on a drive, or to a park or beach. These are the things I’ll always remember.

My dad was very creative. Coming from a small town in Portugal, where something broke, you had to figure out a way to fix it. There was no Home Depot. In his latter years, he did a lot with wood. He would go to where they were doing home construction and grab discarded wood. He’d build things for family and friends. Garden windmills, wishing wells, weather vanes, turntables, lazy Susans, kids’ pull carts with blocks. He even made some cow-looking mailboxes. He was very clever.

My dad was many things: a hunter, a carpenter, a gardener, a winemaker, a cobbler, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and a good friend to many.

My dad was a good man and father. I couldn’t have asked for a better dad and today I thank God for him. He will be missed.