Emily June Silva-Souza
A Legacy To Remember
Emily grew up along the river in the Pocket area of Sacramento, California with her eight siblings. The Pocket was once a nationally significant settlement dating from the mid 1800’s of Portuguese immigrants that immigranted mainly from the Azores Islands.
Emily, the youngest, stands proudly smiling to the right of her favorite dog, Fifi.
As a result of owning farmland, they were fortunate during The Great Depression to keep the family fed and healthy.
Emily is pictured in the center on the property with her mother, Nancy, to the right of her. On the left is Emily’s sister, Madeline.
Emily attended McKlatchy high school in Sacramento in the 1940’s. She was the only child in her family to attend and graduate from high school.
Visiting Santa Cruz was one of her favorite and quick escapes from the city.
It was a beautiful life to be able to live near the ocean.
Emily married her second husband, Joe Souza in 1950.
This was her second marriage which wasn’t common in their time, but her family was accepting of this.
Together, Joe and Emily raised their five daughters and one son.
The family remained in Sacramento and each of their daughters would go on to become Queens in the local Portuguese Festas. Emily told us how proud she is of herself for raising such a big family.
She worked for the Franchise Tax Board to earn some extra money while her children were at school.
Having the opportunity to work outside the home also served as a reprieve from the daily challenges of motherhood.
Emily would express in her journals how difficult marriage and motherhood could be.
Her journals show that issues like depression existed but they were not named or talked about openly in the community as they are openly today. Emily was a very private person and didn’t have anyone to vent to, but she had her pen and paper. Below are quotes from her journal entries.
Emily remained faithful to Joe and they renewed their wedding vows in 2010 on their 60th wedding anniversary.
Their original wedding did not take place at a church so Emily decided that they would renew their vows under Christ.
Although she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017, Emily’s legacy and memories live on with a loving family who appreciates her company and sense of humor.
Emily’s grand-daughter, Stephanie, has become one of her best friends, taking her on adventures like Disneyland to keep her young and vibrant.
“Stephanie took me, Mary and Nancy on the plane to Disneyland! We had a lot of fun. Steph pushed me around in a wheelchair. It was in June. I will report later.”
“That’s it. That’s my story... It’s just a story, but some of it’s true.”
