Maria da Conceição Santos

EAST PROVIDENCE – Maria da Conceição Santos, 89, of East Providence, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at the Hulitar HopeHealth Hospice Center in Providence. She was the beloved wife of the late Silvino Ferreira dos Santos and the late Jose P. Santos.

Born on November 26, 1935, in Chão da Feira, Porto de Mós, Portugal, she was the loving daughter of the late Manuel Ruivo dos Santos and Olivia de Jesus.

Maria immigrated to the United States in 1977, settling first in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence before making her home in East Providence, where she resided for more than four decades. She worked as a supervisor in the housekeeping departments at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence. After her retirement, she took a job as a lunch lady at Whiteknact Elementary School in East Providence to stay busy — and ended up loving it.

A woman of devout Catholic faith, Maria was a longtime communicant of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Fox Point. She was an avid gardener who took great pride in her flowers and vegetable gardens, and she enjoyed word searches and all sorts of puzzles. She loved going out to breakfast, cherished her Portuguese heritage, and faithfully upheld the traditions she grew up with. Maria also made many trips back to Portugal over the years to visit her family there.

Known for her warm personality and wonderful sense of humor, she loved to socialize with neighbors and friends. Her favorite times, though, were those spent in the company of her adoring family.

She is survived by her devoted daughters: Maria Carvalho of East Providence and Regina Jones and her husband, Diego, also of East Providence. She also leaves her cherished grandchildren: Sofia and her husband, Jeffrey; Taylor and her husband, William; and Jordan; along with her great-grandchildren, River and Sebastian. She was the dear sister of Emilia de Jesus of Portugal and also leaves many nieces and nephews both here and abroad.

She was the mother of the late Jose Carlos Ruivo dos Santos and grandmother of the late Daniel Carvalho, the mother-in-law of the late Antonio Ferreira Carvalho, and the sister of the late Joaquim Ruivo dos Santos, João Ruivo dos Santos, and Maria de Jesus.

Her funeral, to which relatives and friends are most kindly invited to attend, will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 9:00 AM from the Rebello Funeral Home, 901 Broadway, East Providence, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated in her honor by the Reverend Joseph Escobar at 10:00 AM in Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 21 Traverse Street, Providence. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 550 Wampanoag Trail, Riverside.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the funeral home.

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