Obituary of Edward Henry Sequeira

On Friday, April 17th at the age of 61, we lost our wonderful husband and father, Edward Henry Sequeira. Ed loved life and lived it to the fullest. His pride and joy was his family and he loved bringing them joy. He loved hamming it up for the kiddies. He loved traveling with the family, listening to great music, indulging in great food, and rehashing tales that everyone loved to look back on with nostalgia. He simply enjoyed life. He leaves behind his pillar of a wife and best friend, Frances, and three amazing children John, Christina, and Aimee. Ed is survived by his mother Rosemary (pre-deceased by his father Alcides), sisters Annmarie and Maureen, brothers Peter and Marc, nephews Danny, Noel, Jeremy, Chris, Alex, Ryan, Dylan, Peter Clifford, and Thomas, nieces Ariana, Victoria, Lily, and Sabrina, and his grandnephew and grandniece, Sabastian and Isabella, who he longed to spend more time with. Ed loved spending time with his family. For weeks before every celebration and vacation with those he loved, he would speak excitedly about it at every opportunity. He wouldn’t miss an event. For Ed, these family gatherings were some of the highlights of the year. He was often viewed by friends of his children as a second father - the fun one. You always became a kid again with Ed. His children all credit him with great inspiration in their lives. How proud he was of all of them as he watched them grow into adulthood. A little part of him always shining through the personalities of those he raised. His outrageous sense of humor imprinted on those closest, he always left a warm lasting impression on everyone he met and knew. He spent most of his time with his wife Betty or “Bread” that he nicknamed her back when they met as students at Seton Hall University in 1982. They both seemed like opposites on the outside, but as everyone closest to them knows, they were always one and the same. They shared a love-filled 37 years filled with milestones and memories. Ed was always the life of the party. His favorite pastime was being with people and enjoying the moment. He could always be counted on to start an interesting conversation. He was a proud progressive who never shied away from a sensitive topic, he wasn’t afraid of his thoughts and had strong convictions, be it political or otherwise because he was always guided by his heart. He knew that everything boiled down to just that, he saw past all the smoke and mirrors and was fearless in saying it. Maybe this is because he was surrounded by and embraced by people from all different walks of life. Everyone operated from the same heart he himself shared. Working for 26 years at New England Motor Freight, Ed became one of their most faithful and trusted employees having a personal rapport with everyone there. They all loved Eddie. He took great pride in his dedication to the company, becoming part of so many of the memories his family shares of him. Some days after work, Ed came home in the chilling dead of winter that he had spent all day working dressed in his winter camo suit. He’d gather steaks from the kitchen to cook in the backyard, filling the neighborhood with the smell of BBQ. Grilling, drinking a beer, and listening to Pink Floyd on his portable speaker, he had everyone peeking out of their windows thinking how crazy he looked while wishing they had a barbecued steak themselves, and I’m sure a person that much fun to share them with. He was always that way, unapologetically himself. He just wanted to have fun and have as many people be a part of it. Music was one of his biggest loves in life and he extended that same love to whoever had hours of time to go song by song through albums with him, appreciating the same great feelings they developed in him. His weekends were filled with blasting music through his home (there wasn’t a restriction on volume with Ed, even when asked to turn it down) and now the silence of these days will continue to be some of the most painful reminders of his absence but we’ll always play a song for him. So play a tune for Ed, rehash a memory or two to someone you know will make them laugh, celebrate love in his honor, and always leave room to be a big kid yourself. After all, it’s what he’s taught everyone whose life he’s touched. A short funeral service will be lived streamed at 12pm eastern Monday, April 27th which can be accessed at www.vpfh-fb.com. The burial service will be live-streamed at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, we request that any donations are made to MusiCares Covid-19 Relief Fund at www.grammy.com/musicares/donations