Palmera 'Pal' Alves, 96, Lifelong Bristol Resident

Palmera "Pal" (Massa) Alves, of 311 Metacom Avenue, Bristol, entered peacefully into eternal life on Thursday, November 7, 2013, surrounded by her loving family. She was 96.

She was the wife of the late Manuel "Steve" Alves. "Pal" was a lifelong resident of Bristol where most of her family still resides. She was one of 11 children of the late Biagio and Teresa (Ambrosia) Massa. She was born on Palm Sunday in 1917 and with joy was named Palmera by her loving mother and father. 

She is survived by three daugthers, LuAnn Pezzullo and her husband Ed of Bristol, Kathleen (Alves) Golini of Jamestown, and Becky (Alves) Wright of South Kingstown. Pal leaves six grandchildren, Edward Pezzullo of Warren, Marybeth Fletcher, of Bristol, Steven Pezzullo, of Warwick, Lee Golini, of Jamestown, Maxwell Wright of South Kingstown and Lacey Rose Wright, of Stockholm Sweden. She also leaves six beloved great grandchildren, Nathan Fletcher, Ariana Pezullo, ZacharyPezzullo, Steven, Ethan and Cameron Pezzullo. Her living siblings include a brother, Edmund "Hector" Massa of Bristol. There also survive many cousins, spouses of children and grandchildren and other family members and friends who are integral threads of the woven fabric of this remarkable family: Rosie, Floey, Terry and Buzz, Big Ed, Jean, Julie, Chris, Shirley, all the “little” cousins in the neighborhood on State St. and Mt. Hope, Terry, Alan, Ed, Cindy, Steven, Benny, Nick, Linny, Joanne, Gene, Eugene, Charlie, et. al., her lifelong friends at the church, all the ladies at the beauty shop, and her caregivers at St. Elizabeths Manor for the last two years of her life. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and siblings, grand and great grandchildren and two born (grandchildren) infants: Joseph Pezzullo, and Hannah Rose Pezzullo, two beloved and grown young men, Christopher Golini, and Jarred Fletcher, four sisters, Anna Esposito, Florence "Flo" Vieira, Josephine Vescera and Theresa Cardoza and five brothers, Joseph, Salvatore "Sal", Nicholas "Nick", Biagino "Gene" and Angelo "Chet" Massa. She was a communicant of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bristol, and a member of the Nocturnal Adoration Society at the church. 

Pal and “Steve” her husband lived a long and happy marriage together, full of big band dancing, family traditions, and lifelong friends especially Isabelle and Tony Principe. There were family traditions that we shared from both sides of the family; the Alves’ and the Massa’s, especially the holiday serenading from the Alves side. We can still hear those songs, the guitars, and the bells at our door in the middle of the night. It was better than Santa Claus! She will always be remembered as the life of the party as well as a family confidant and supporter of her family through thick and thin. She and her “Hon” (husband) endured and enjoyed life though the Great Depression; she found time and loving words for everyone who needed her until the day she passed. Pal Alves made her community and the world a better place for the life and light she gave to all. 

Funeral services are at the Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood Street, Bristol, on Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 9:00 AM with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 141 State Street, Bristol. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Chestnut Street, Bristol. Visiting hours at Sansone, are Monday, November 11, 2013 from 4:00-7:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to the local community soup kitchen and food bank, Bristol Good Neighbors, 378 Hope Street, P.O. Box 223, Bristol, RI 02809 or online at www.bristolgoodneighbors.org or to The Alzheimers Foundation of RI, 245 Waterman Street, Suite 306, Providence, RI 02906 or online at www.alz.org.