Obituary
Mr. Richard “Rick” A. Carreira, 67, of Houston, Texas, passed away Sunday August 29, 2021.
Mr. Carreira was born May 24, 1954 in Warwick, Rhode Island to Joseph and Irene Carreira. Richard graduated from West Warwick High School in 1973. He and his wife, Linda, were joined in marriage in 1977. In 1989, they moved to Panama City, Florida where they resided for 26 years and then moved to Houston, Texas in 2015.
Rick was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Linda Carreira of Houston, TX; daughters, Rebecca “Becky” Sekamanya and Tamara Carreira of Katy, TX; grandsons Dominic Carreira and Jeremiah Sekamanya of Katy, TX; brother, Joseph Carreira (Connie) of Coventry, RI; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Rick loved fishing, being out on the water and was a drummer since he was a very small child. He had a great sense of humor and brought smiles to anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
The Carreira family would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Kathy Sam and her staff at Oncology Consultants.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Rick to Ezekiel 37 Ministry, the non-profit organization his daughter, Becky co-founded that serves to educate hundreds of children in one of the most remote areas of Uganda, Africa. Donations can be made online or mailed to the address below. www.ezekiel37ministry.org/donate
Ezekiel 37 Ministry PO Box 79381 Houston, TX 77279
Eulogy given by daughter, Becky
Sometimes, the healing we pray for doesn’t come. Sometimes, prayers are answered with crushing no’s, and its in those times our faith just doesn’t seem to be enough. Other times, like this time, the healing we prayed for did come, but it came eternal and with it, a wholeness that truly restores.
My Daddy's healing came last Sunday. Sadly, for us and joyfully for him, God chose eternal. Fully restored as brand new with Jesus.
We are thankful that God chose Daddy to be the head of our family. 44 years ago God joined Mom and Dad in holy matrimony. Two years later I came along and two and a half years later my sister joined us. Our family is small and we have always been as tight knit as they come.
Marriage is not easy…which I think many of us can attest to. My parents had their trials and tribulations over the years many of which I probably don’t even know about. But their love for each other was true. Their love for each other was clear. Their love for each other was forever. Through thick and thin, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Mom was there by her Babe’s side.
Daddy was always there for us. Whether it was Tammy’s gymnastics meets, my band performances, Tammy’s cheerleading or dance recitals. He was there for it all. When we were out of high school and college Mom and Dad both were always helping with our houses. Helping us improve, renovate, change light fixtures, ceiling fans, fixing a toilet on Father’s Day, anything we needed he’d do it. Jeremiah called Papa Mr. Fixer. If a toy broke which was beyond repair, he’d tell me to take it to Papa’s and let him fix it because Papa can fix everything.
Daddy was a drummer most of his life. He started from a very young age. Mom found a picture of dad at a little set of drums at under 2 years old. These drums are the ones that Daddy has had since he was 10 years old. They have followed him everywhere he moved for the last 57 years. Jeremiah has the musical gene like his Papa. He says he’s going to be a drummer in a band one day and oh how I pray that he does. His Papa will surely be so happy if that happens.
Papa loved his grandsons very much. He was so proud of them and loved to be out at the ballfield, sitting on the bleachers cheering them on and yelling for Dominic to “take a deep breath” when he was on the pitching mound or “Go buddy” to Jeremiah as he rounded the bases. Such a booming voice that could be heard from fields away it seemed.
Growing up when my sister and I would go anywhere he’d say “usa cabesa” which meant use your head in Portuguese. Essentially Think before you do something. We’d roll our eyes but when we were out in the back of our minds, we always remembered what Daddy told us. In the rare instances that we did anything wrong, Daddy had what we called the gorilla eyes. He’d make his eyes real big as if they were going to just pop out of their sockets. It always straightened us right up…it worked when we were adults too. However, the gorilla eyes did not have the same effect on the boys. Particularly Jeremiah…he just cracked up and laughed when Papa made those eyes at him.
Daddy had health issues for as long as I can remember. Having open heart bypass surgery at 39 years old. Mini-strokes. About 20 stents in his heart and legs. Back surgery which caused long lasting issues. Prostate cancer and then lung and brain cancer. He was in and out of the hospital a lot. I remember when I told him I was going to move to Uganda, one of the first things he said was “well who’s going to entertain me in the hospital now?” He may have laughed at the time but he was serious.
I am often referred to as The Entertainer. Maybe it’s a gift from God that allows me to see life through a different lens and find ways to lighten the mood on the heaviest of days and situations. When we took Daddy to the hospital in July it was a very scary day. He was having a hard time speaking the words he wanted to say due to brain swelling and Mom and I were trying so hard to understand him. He’d get out a couple words and I’d try and piece it together and guess as to what he was saying. He’d get so frustrated but I told him with all the Wheel of Fortune I watch I had been training for this my whole life. He laughed.
My greatest fear of moving to Uganda was not being here if anything happened to him. That is why the last few months are such a treasure to me. I had the privilege of caring for Daddy and hanging out with him each day since June. When mom was still working in the office we were alone during the day. There were days when he was feeling really down and I’d just get to sit with him. Having the flexibility of working at home is such a blessing. We’d talk, watch nonsense shows and banter about them. His favorites were Bar Rescue, Swamp People, Wicked Tuna, and Dr Pimple Popper. I swear he’d turn on that doctor show just to chase me out of the room in a not so subtle way of telling me to get back to work.
Daddy loved food. Anyone who knows him knows he loved to eat and he loved to cook. He loved to create things. We’d call them his concoctions. Where he’d have a recipe but he’d add something else or change it up. He was always thinking ahead for the next day’s meals. “So what’s for supper?” was often heard. Even last Thursday when I was with him at the long term hospital, he must have asked me 3 times what’s for supper? Oh what I wouldn’t give to hear him say it again. Or “hey wanna get me some chips and salsa?”
We laughed a lot. Daddy had a great sense of humor. Reading the comments on our Facebook post this week there were so many people who said what a jolly and happy guy he was with a great laugh. And it’s so true. He always made people smile and laugh.
For his 50th birthday we threw him a big surprise party. He had just been recovering from mini-strokes and for some reason we thought throwing a huge surprise party was a good idea for someone with heart problems…. his brother and sister-in-law flew in as a surprise. His aunt and uncle came in as a surprise. It’s a wonder how his heart handled it all. But one of the things we did was ask everyone to write notes to Dad telling them whatever they wanted him to know and what he meant to them. They were all in a treasure box. Mom, Tammy and I were reading through them this past week. It is amazing that much of what was written is still true today 17 years later. Even my letter to Daddy was very similar to what I had already started to write in this eulogy. He was a kind, generous, loving, and funny guy who people really loved to be around. The beauty is he got to read all of those things while he was still on Earth.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
This scripture really spoke to my heart this week because it says to rejoice always. I do rejoice in the fact that Daddy is no longer in pain. He no longer has to suffer. He no longer has to worry about relying on us to help him. I rejoice that He is in heaven with Jesus.
We have prayed without ceasing through the illnesses and diagnoses and we continue to pray that God will protect us and guide us as we navigate through life without Daddy here with us.
And then the scripture says “in everything give thanks”. Even in the deepest of sadness that I feel at the loss of my beloved Daddy…I am thankful.
Thankful for the husband he was to Mom.
Thankful for the example he was to my sister and I and our boys.
Thankful for the added years he had with us thanks to medical advances.
Thankful he got to watch me get married (and then divorced but let’s not talk about that).
Thankful he got to be a Papa.
Thankful he was always there for us.
Thankful he taught us how to fix things and use tools and saws although he never taught us how to change a tire.
Thankful he cooked for us all the time.
Thankful I had so much time with him the last few months.
Thankful he trusted me and let me help care for him.
Thankful that I have no regrets and left nothing unsaid.
Thankful he was not alone at the end and thankful Mom was not alone either.
Thankful that he loved us fiercely and with everything he had and we all knew it without any doubt.
He will be greatly missed by all of us. We were blessed to have him. Thank you, God, for the gift you gave us through the life of Rick Carreira. We are forever thankful.