Manuel DaCunha, of West Hartford, died Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the age of 100. Born in Hartford on August 12, 1923, to Jose and Maria Cunha, he moved to Portugal with his older brother and two sisters at the age of three. In 1940 at age 17 he boarded the Greek ship Nea Hellas in Lisbon and returned to Hartford via Ellis Island. He enrolled in barber school to complete training he had begun in Portugal and started his career.

During WWII he served in the U.S. Army. In 1943 he trained at Camp Robinson and Camp Pickett, where he put his civilian skills to work as the company barber. Before deploying to his assignment in New Guinea, Mindanao, and the Philippines, he returned home to Hartford to see his family. On that visit home he met his beautiful Alvina. They married after the war, in 1948. They bought their first home on Park Road in West Hartford and started a family. In 1957 they moved to a new home on Randal Avenue in West Hartford, with their first two children, Kathy and Ken. In 1962, the family grew with the birth of their second son, Steve.

Manuel went to work at the Garden Barber Shop in the Parkville section of Hartford and bought the business when the owner retired in the early 1950s. In 1954 he purchased the building at 38 New Park Avenue and moved the Garden Barber Shop there. He operated the shop until 1989, when he retired at the age of 65. After retirement he reunited with his vintage barber chairs at Sal’s Barber Shop, just down the road, where he continued to work part time for another 20 years. Many of his longtime customers stayed with him until he finally retired at the age of 85.

During his 20 years of semi-retirement, he and Alvina enjoyed many wonderful trips in and out of the United States, including Portugal, Italy, Hawaii, and San Diego. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1998 surrounded by family and friends.

Manuel and Alvina’s home was a place where visitors were always welcome to stop by for conversation, a meal, card games, and storytelling. It was a place where kindness, laughter, and love prevailed.

Manuel lost Alvina, his sweetheart and best friend on November 11, 2007. In the years that followed Manuel found friendship, companionship, and ultimately love in his long-time neighbor, Cecilia Santos. They remained best friends until the end.

Manuel was predeceased by his infant grandson, Paul John Cleary; his brothers, Anthony and Armindo; and his sisters, Urbana Moura and Eva Fonseca. Manuel is survived by his daughter, Kathleen and her husband Paul Cleary; his sons, Ken DaCunha and partner Martha Mitchell, and Steve DaCunha and wife Rosemary; his six grandchildren, Alison Cleary Urban and husband Michael, Robert Cleary and wife Sara, Christine Cleary Tripoli and husband Salvatore, Michael DaCunha and partner Kelsey Tuller, Brendan DaCunha and partner Katie Maloney, and Elisa DaCunha and partner Ashley Zimmerman; his six beautiful great-grandchildren, Lia, Heidi, and Colin Urban, Theo and Julian Tripoli, and Cedar Cleary; and many nieces and nephews.

Calling hours for family and friends will be held Friday, April 19, from 4pm to 7pm at the Sheehan Hilborn Breen Funeral Home, 1084 New Britain Ave., West Hartford. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, April 20, at 10am at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 872 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Burial will follow at Mt. St. Benedict Cemetery, Bloomfield.

Memorial donations may be made in Manuel’s honor to veterans’ assistance organization, Tunnel to Towers Foundation (T2T.org) 2361 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306. Online condolences may be made at www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com