Manuel Dias was born on February 8, 1951, in Montinho, a small village in Portugal. He died on September 4, 2026, at the age of 75, in New Jersey, after a life that took him far beyond the place where it began. Visiting will be on Thursday September 10, 2026, from 4:00p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Armitage Wiggins Funeral Home 596 Belgrove Drive in Kearny. Prayers at 7:00 p.m. and private cremation will follow.
Manuel came from a world with few of the advantages that supposedly determine how far a person can go, including living in 4 countries on 3 continents.
As a young man, Manuel left Portugal for the first time and moved to Paris. He had to close that chapter to serve for 3 years in Mozambique, leaving behind a life he had already begun to build. It was a period of his life he would rarely speak about, even with the person closest to him. The photographs he brought home capture some happier moments. His journal preserves the rest: hardship, loss and experiences he believed no young man should have to endure.
When he returned, he started his life over in the South of France, this time as a married man and soon-to-be father, even as the next chapter of his life was already taking shape. After 25 years in France, he once again became an immigrant, moving to the United States, where he became a union worker and built the same reputation for hard work that followed him everywhere he went.
He remained married for more than 50 years to a woman he had known since childhood. He raised 3 children and watched the next generation begin life with opportunities he himself had never been given. His children went farther because he had carried them on his shoulders for part of the way. And his grandchildren managed to reach, and warm, parts of his heart and soul that life had given him plenty of reasons to protect.
Manuel never needed to articulate a philosophy of life, but he left one anyway.
Work hard. Do what you say you are going to do. Don't be intimidated merely because something is difficult or unfamiliar. Treat the person standing in front of you with respect, regardless of who they are. Take pride in doing something properly. And, apparently, never accept the first price offered at a flea market.
It worked remarkably well for him.
He leaves behind his wife, Maria Dília; his children, Andréa, Catherine and Miguel; his grandchildren, Hugo, Eva and Manon; his son-in-law, Fernando Miguel, and daughter-in-law, Gina; his sisters, Licinia, Rosa, Idalina and Fernanda; his brothers, Licinio and Amadeu; family and friends spread across countries; former coworkers who became lifelong friends; neighbors; and countless people with whom he simply started a conversation because, to Manuel, strangers rarely needed to remain strangers for very long.
After a lifetime spent leaving home, building another one, and starting over, Manuel will make one final journey.
He will return to Portugal. And this time, he gets to stay.
In lieu of flowers, Manuel was very clear that he did not want anyone spending money on flowers in his memory. For those who wish to honor him, please consider making a donation instead to the Clara Maass Medical Center Foundation, whose care meant a great deal to him, or to a charity that is meaningful to you.
