‘Extraordinary’ life of service

People knew that they could count on him and he would do anything to help them.”

Paula Pacheco

Dedication of Fred Pacheco Square

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m.

WHERE: Corner of Wood and Franklin streets

Frederico “Fred” Pacheco wore many hats in his 79 years. He was an immigrant who brought his family to the U.S. from the Azores; a businessman who owned his own travel agency; a Rotarian; a political candidate who ran for state senate; and world traveler who visited 107 countries.

But above all else, those who knew Fred best knew him as a community leader, generous benefactor and tireless advocate, especially for the Portuguese immigrants who followed in his wake across the Atlantic.

“My father was extraordinary. He really was a person of the people,” Angela Cabral said. “He was insistent that you work hard and be a productive member of society, and he lived that. He had a strong devotion to immigrants. He saw people struggling and he wanted to help. He just wanted to help people.”

And help people he did. From his Bristol County Travel office, Mr. Pacheco was known to help new Americans navigate their way into their new country. He would prepare documents to pave the way for new immigrants, and continue helping them pass citizenship tests, file necessary documents to become full Americans and file their taxes, often charging nothing to those who couldn’t afford to pay.

“He was a community man and a man of service,” Mr. Pacheco’s son, Paulo Pacheco said at his father’s funeral in December 2014. “It was extremely important for him to give back. It was part of the fabric of his being to try and improve the lives of those around him … People knew that they could count on him and he would do anything to help them.”

His devotion to Bristol and its people began immediately when he arrived here in 1962 with his wife, Deodete and two young children. Escaping the dictatorship in Portugal, Mr. Pacheco sought a better life of freedom and prosperity in America, Mrs. Pacheco said, immediately setting out to become a citizen. Just five years later, all four members of the family became official Americans, taking the oath of citizenship together.

Soon after, Mr. Pacheco cast his first vote — for himself — as he ran for state senate. While his campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, that didn’t stop him from being a force for change in the community. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world — that’s what motivated him,” Ms. Cabral said.

Perhaps the biggest change Mr. Pacheco enacted came in the early 1990s, after the Kaiser Mill at the corner of Wood and Franklin streets closed down. Not happy with plans to convert the mill into public housing, Mr. Pacheco spearheaded a campaign to preserve the building, ultimately leading to the Franklin Court Independent Living and Assisted Living facility in that location today. In a fitting twist, his daughter, Angela, is now the director of the assisted living facility.

“This is a more than a job; this is a home to me,” Ms. Cabral said. “It’s kind of a beautiful culmination of all of it.”

While Franklin Court is a physical testament to Mr. Pacheco’s dedicated service, the memories of all the people he touched and helped keep his spirit alive in his beloved neighborhood. And now he, himself, will forever be a tangible part of the neighborhood. On Saturday, the intersection of Wood and Franklin streets will be named “Fred Pacheco Square.” A stone dedicating the area to the lifelong community servant will be unveiled in the garden in front of the Azorean Butcher Shop, directly across from another of his community projects — Mosaico Park, where a statue of his good friend and fellow community activist, Dr. Manuel DaSilva, looks over the square.

Former Bristol Rotary Club President David Barboza proposed renaming the square in Mr. Pacheco’s honor, and will lead the unveiling of a stone and street sign in his honor Saturday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. A devoted Rotarian, Mr. Pacheco was the embodiment of the the club’s mission, Mr. Barboza said. 

“He was a friend, an inspiration, a mentor,” Mr. Barboza said. “‘Service above self’ defines Fred. He wasn’t always about himself, but what he could do for others.”

Mr. Pacheco’s monument — and the memory of his service to others — will remain a part of the mosaic of the community, like the pattern of stones that line the park directly across the street.

“He got those stones here from the Azores. He was a travel agent, so he could arrange it with the airline,” Deodete Pacheco said. “Every stone is its own, but they all come together.”