Maria M. Quental

Mrs. Maria M. (DeMello) Quental, of Waltham, died Wednesday February 11, 2009 at Meadow Green Nursing Home in Waltham. She was 99.

Maria was born on November 8, 1909 in Cambridge, a daughter of the late Jesse and Virgina (Rezendes) DeMello, and had lived in Waltham since 1955. Until her retirement she had worked for the B.F. Goodrich Company in Watertown for twenty-nine years. During the war years she made military boots at the plant that had been converted over to wartime production.

Many years ago Maria became the first kidney transplant donor in Massachusetts. In her later years she enjoyed cooking, painting and sewing.

The wife of the late Virgino Quental, she leaves her son, Leonard M. Quental of Lancaster, Pennsylvania; her grandson, Mark A. Quental and his wife, Zonia, of Waltham; two great-grandchildren, Alejandra and Christopher Quental; her sister , Lydia Almeida of the Azores and many nieces and nephews.

She was also the mother of the late Alda Quental and a sister of the late James, John and Manuel DeMello.

Family and friends will honor and remember Maria's life by gathering for calling hours at The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. where her funeral service will held at 7 p.m. Friends may visit again on Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m. before leaving for a graveside service at 10 a.m. in Cambridge Cemetery.