Tony De Sousa – 1957-2021
In 2015, Tony De Sousa became President of the Portuguese Cultural Centre of Mississauga (PCCM) after being the Vice President
from 2006-2014. Tony has been a director of the PCCM since 1990. He served as an acting member for 31 years and his mission of representing, promoting and preserving the Portuguese culture throughout Mississauga, the GTA and Ontario has made him a notable leader in our community.
Tony was born on June 7, 1957, in the Portuguese village of Lourinhã and soon after, as he liked to say, “immigrated to the big city” of Torres Vedras. At the age of 13, Tony and his family emigrated to Toronto, and he began his new life as a Luso-Canadian. On January 14, 1978, Tony married his beautiful wife Luisa, and soon they welcomed their daughter Michelle.
Tony’s family values shone through every personal and professional aspect of his life. He endeavoured to make every single person who walked through the doors of the PCCM feel welcomed – and he succeeded. Those family values were prevalent in his role in reviving the PCCM Youth Group. He always said, “our future is with our youth,” and he did everything in his power to support everyone in hopes for a brighter future. Along with his passion for the youth group, Tony worked on several projects at the PCCM including the famous Fado nights, where he brought international artists from Portugal and local talent together to celebrate the soulful music of Portugal. In addition, Tony spent countless amounts of hours making sure our Centre had everything it needed to operate, from ordering food, planning events, communicating with our directors and members, participating in all the events, doing interviews for the Portuguese radio and television and much, much more.
On May 26, 2021, our esteemed President Tony De Sousa passed away peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. He is survived by his beloved wife Luisa, his daughter Michelle, his son-in-law Bruno and the pride of his life, his granddaughter Jessica. His legacy lives on at the PCCM with every caring action, encouraging word, welcoming smile and cheerful laugh.
