Justin Dourado, a very special man
By Sherwin D’Souza
Justin was born in Kitale, Nairobi, Kenya and he was the eldest of 6 siblings. At the age of 12 his father passed away and he had the responsibility of becoming the man of the house. He helped his mum to look after his 4 brothers, Aklin, Tony, William, Johnny and baby sister Joyce.
He had to grow up fast and helped his mum, Maria, provide for them, educate them and shower them with the love and support that a father gives his children.
After finishing St Teresa’s boys’ school in 1961 at the age of 18, Justin joined East African Airways in Nairobi. His work colleagues described him as hard-working, affable and very helpful. He took care of the family and made sure that they all completed their education.
Whilst in Nairobi, he took up sports and was a gifted sportsman. He played football for the Young Goans, and played hockey for the Railway Goan Institute. He also took part in athletics, in particular the 100m and 200m sprints. His house was full of sporting trophies that he won.
In 1964 he took a transfer and promotion to Mombasa, and whilst there played hockey for the Mombasa Institute. He made many good friends whilst in Mombasa.
When he had holidays whilst working in Mombasa he arranged for his mum and sister to come visit him. His mum was often not well, but on her trips to the beach in Mombasa she would glow and her health seemed to improve.
In 1967 Justin was made the Chief Officer of the East African Airways Mombasa branch. His boss said he can still picture his face lighting up when he got told the news.
During the late 1960s most the brothers started to move to England. Justin’s mum and sister moved in 1970 and Justin moved over to the East African Airlines branch in London in 1971. A few years later he bought a house in Walthamstow and continued to work for East African Airways, later. named Kenya Airways until his retirement.
Justin was a father figure to his siblings and the greatest Uncle to his nieces and nephews, we couldn‘t have asked for anything more.
He always talked positively about his job, and through his job he travelled the world, met many great people along the way, and made sure he learnt about their cultures and food. I always remember the picture he had of him shaking hands with Prince Edward on his mantlepiece.
Family values were also important to him. We all looked up to him, he was known as a legend by some.
He was a great cook, no one in our family could beat his fish curry and chicken curry.
He loved watching Only Fools and Horses and could watch them one after the other during the Christmas holidays. Justin was known to be an entertainer, the life and soul of a party and the one who comes out with the all jokes……..some of which were too rude to repeat…
One of my favourite memories was of Justin wearing his French maid’s apron on Christmas day, and watching everyone’s reaction when they came to visit. I can’t remember if he took it off before the priest came over, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if he didn’t.
He was known for being the Whats App king, always without fail sending morning messages to all, wishing them a nice day, sending them quizzes and jokes.
He always made time to help others in need.
Justin was very meticulous in everything he did. Everything had a place and there was a place for everything. Whether that be at work or at home. I’ve lost count of the times I’d eat at his house and have to put the correct placemats on the dining table.
My Uncle was a straight up man, saying things how they were as he always felt that honesty was the best way to be. This sometimes upset others, but you could be rest assured he wouldn’t say anything behind your back he wasn’t prepared to say to your face. He corrected us when he felt it was needed, and provided us with the wisdom that he gained over the many years of his life.
No doubt, one person that will miss him a lot will be my mum. As the only girl and the youngest of six she was bound to get special attention. When my grandma came over to England, she came over with my mum and they settled together, here in Leicester. So, Justin had his two special ladies here and was extremely fond of them.
Mum has always told me from as young as I can remember, that Justin is a brother/father/friend/cooking buddy/companion and probably most important of all her drinking partner.
His wishes were to have his final resting place here in Leicester as this was his second home and also to be close to his mum, who he loved and respected so dearly.
Justin, you will truly be missed in our lives but leave us with amazing memories that bring smiles to our faces.
Tribute by Maria Dourado-Alfonso
Good afternoon everybody
For those of you who do not know me, I am Maria Dourado –Alfonso, a niece and god-daughter of Justin.
We as the Dourado family would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you coming here today in supporting us in our grief as we come to terms with the sudden death of Justin. Thank you to the priest for celebrating the mass, giving thanks for Justin’s life, and thank you to funeral directors staff and the organist who have assisted us during this requiem service.
We thank you for your cards, phone calls, emails, texts, WhatsApp messages sent, your personal condolence visits and the mass intentions that you have arranged and offered in Justin’s memory.
I will not mention names so I do not cause upset if I leave anyone out, but we appreciate those who have travelled both near and far to celebrate his Justin’s life, especially those who have helped in the lead up to today, preparing the church hall and church, those who help during the mass, with coach arrangements from London, preparing the food and offering your help this afternoon during this wake, in honour of Justin, I am sure that he would be deeply touched and humbled to know that he was loved and cared about by so many, if he could see you all of you here today.
Justin was a brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend too many of us here today, and my godfather. We all have our own memories and stories of our encounters with Justin, I remember at young age I used to call him uncle Jock as I could not say his name properly and I have lovely photos of us both especially those taken during his days at Hazelwood Road where he lived with Aklin and Lucy.
When he moved to Lime Street, or Black Horse Village as he would prefer his home location to be referred to- I remember his Kenyan furnishings of the zebra foot lampshade and Maasai wood carvings, I recall him telling stories of famous people he had met and of how he had travel around the whole world, a number of times, even on Concorde as that was the big deal back then. He would call me up and tell me to come over to his house to collect a parcel of mandazis or halwa.
But the fact of the matter is he was not just my godfather. He was the Godfather of our family. He was our Don Corleone without the crime corruption and violence. Justin was a man of high expectations and as siblings growing up in Kenya and even now through adulthood here in the UK, his approval was sought to ensure that they did not let him or the family name down, a trait that has been instilled in us, his nieces and nephews. Reputation was everything to him and he had high standards for all of us to adhere to.
Justin loved his family and they loved him. The siblings remember their time in Kitale, where they lived before their father died. As well as Ginger Road in Nairobi and their big avocado tree, as well as the home behind St Teresa's school where the 6 of them shared a bedroom with their mum, sleeping in bunks. Family and tradition was very important to him. He served as a committee member of Cortalim Union UK as a mark of respect to Uncle Tia Augustine, who was a founder member of Cortalim Union in Kenya. As a family, every year, we always made it a point to be together for mass to remember Nanna’s death anniversary and visit her graveside.
Justin was a highly respected man, not just in the Goan community, but by work colleagues and those of other cultures across the globe-and this has been evident in the numerous messages of sympathy that we have received. Although a private man, he was very popular and sociable and was often called up on to give speeches at milestone birthdays, wedding, anniversaries and special occasions. He had a friendly rapport and ability to talk to young and old alike. He enjoyed his football chats, with my son Enrico, mainly regarding their team, Manchester United, taking Zayn on a tour of monopoly locations as well as being lollipop uncle to three Joanna’s sons.
Justin could describe himself as a simple man, who did not like to be fussed over and he did not like the limelight, but could easily become the centre of attention at a function. He was modest about his achievements; I knew he played football and hockey in Nairobi and Mombasa for Young Goans and Goan Railway Institute, as well as Mombasa GI, which had contributed to problems of his knee. These knee problems did not prevent him from making a 2 week walking holiday in Portugal with my cousins Jason and Joanne in 2005, who found it had to keep up with him, despite his painful knee,
Justin loved life and life loved him. He was a great host and cook, his specialty dish being lamb curry. He loved a Tuskers beer, pint of Guinness or a tumbler of famous grouse. He enjoyed his Friday met ups at the Tollgate Pub in Turnpike Lane to catch up of familiar faces here today. He enjoyed fishing trips, watching most sports, but especially his beloved Man Utd, he enjoyed travelling to meet up with friends from Kenya who were scattered around the world and had made plans to do so before his sudden death. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lucy who found Justin the day after he died and helped the paramedics with their enquires.
He was very independent and never wanted to burden anyone. He was meticulous in what he did and hated being late, for anything- even to the extent of us receiving birthday cards two or three days in advance to ensure we got his birthday wishes on time. This well-organised man prepared his funeral wishes to be conducted here in Leicester, close to where Nana is buried and set aside the expense to cover them which have been dutifully carried out my aunt Joyce, and her family.
Our final thank you is to Joyce, Steven, Sherwin and Joanna for all your efforts in making this a great send off for our dearly beloved.
Please stand (raise your glasses) as we remember with fondness, Rest in Peace Mr. Justino Dourado. You will be missed by many, gone but not forgotten.
May your soul and the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.
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| Seated second from left Justin Dourado |
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