Goodbye, dear grandad Gilton

24 JANUARY 23

Last year, I wrote this tribute to my dear nan Leila after she passed away on 09th Sept. As expected, losing the love of his life affected my grandad Gilton deeply and he passed away on 17th Jan.

I loved my grandad immensely. We had a strong bond and I truly considered him my second father. Last time I saw him, I knew it was a farewell. He was very weak and could barely speak, but he told me how much he loved me and that I was still his favourite 🤍 (he never hid that from anyone). We hugged each other and shed some tears 😥

My grandad introduced me to the famous Brazilian combo 'goiabada com queijo' - a sweet made of guava with cheese which I love it! He used to hide the 'goiabada' away and he'd call me in private to point out where it was when I went to his house. ‘It’s for you’ he would say. Every time I eat the combo it tastes like childhood and all I can think of is our precious moments together. 🤍

In case you are wondering, this is what it looks like:

There are a few things that come to my mind when I think about my grandad: photography, newspaper, football, rocking chair and coffee. As I mentioned in my About me section, my great-grandad founded the first Camera shop/Darkroom in my hometown Tatui which then passed to my grandad. The famous FOTO MENEZES lasted almost a century!

In the modern days, when the digital era came and he didn't have to work in the darkroom anymore, you would see my grandad sitting on his little chair behind the counter watching the world go by and smiling at the customers.

The shop had a hidden secret door that led into his house upstairs. In the living room, my grandparents were always watching movies together (him sitting on his classic rocking chair; her laying on the sofa). On Sundays, he used to watch football matches in which case he wouldn’t blink at all. The eyes of concentration were amusing! If he had had a few beers with my dad, he would fall asleep with his mouth wide open and sometimes you could hear him snoring 😂

My grandparents had their daily routine. In the morning, they would have coffee and read the newspaper together. My grandad had a peculiar way of drinking, with his pinky finger raised while holding the glass (some may say it’s actually very classy!). He liked his coffee strong and sweet, although when he had made it, all you could taste was pure sugar. OMG his coffee was bloody sweet! 😂

I had a great admiration for my grandad for being an extraordinary companion to my grandmother. There wasn’t and there will never be a love like theirs. It was surreal, pure, romantic and cinematic! They were the perfect definition of soul-mates and true companionship. They were simply meant to be together and belonged to each other like magnets.

My grandad would do anything to make my nan happy. I used to drive her crazy by joking that she ‘abused’ him and he did too much (bless her!). He used to help her cook, do the dishes, laundry, take her to work, you name it! I never saw him lose his temper by being called so many times on a daily basis by my nan ('Gilton, can you do this...Gilton, can you do that...') 😂

They were inseparable and they were always holding hands. All he wanted was to be with her, and love her.



It would have been their 69th wedding anniversary this month, but they shared a life together for more than 70 years. My grandad was such a handsome man when he was younger - dark hair, blue eyes - and very elegant! Every time I look at their old photos, I think 'my nan was not stupid!' and that's why sometimes she'd get a bit jealous 😂



Her departure was the beginning of his decline. His life had no purpose without her 💔