José Dias Évora, 84, of Brockton, passed away on Thursday, April 16, 2020. He was the husband of Maria Helena (Santos) Évora. Born on March 8, 1936 in Fogo, Cape Verde, he was the son of the late Gualdino Évora and Benvinda (Dias) Pires. José received a Bachelor of Science degree from ISCSP University of Lisbon and a Master of Education from UMASS Boston. Personally, and professionally, José dedicated his life to helping people and his community. The passion for public service guided his career choices, starting with serving in the Ministry of Finance in Angola and taking part in negotiations at the United Nations between Portugal and some of its former colonies (including Cape Verde) in independence negotiations in the early 1970s. After migrating to the United States in 1974, José's career focus shifted to education where he spent over 20 years working to educate and help prepare our youth for their futures in several roles with the Scituate and Brockton Public School systems. While with the Brockton Public School system, José served several years as a Guidance Counselor at Brockton High School and ultimately as Director of the Title VII Bilingual Program where he helped create and manage the launch of the bilingual education program in Brockton and contributed to the educational success of countless students across the city for 15 years of this tenure. During his career in education, José touched the lives of innumerable families, which he invariably extended himself to during his tenure. After retirement from the school system, José continued to work to support and serve the Brockton community as a Business Development Office for Harbor One Bank, where he focused on identifying and serving the financial needs of under-served communities. With continued desire to educate the youth, one of José's key contributions during his time with Harbor One was developing a financial literacy program to further educate high-school students across local communities. José ended his career as owner of 'Taxes and More', serving those in the community that needed his help; he was actively working until just before his passing. In addition to his professional career, José found other ways of dedicating himself to serving the community that he treasured. José was a Board Member and former President of the Cape Verdean Association of Brockton, where he sat on the board during the initial stages of development of the association. During his tenure, José helped to connect the city's growing Cape Verdean population and truly build the sense of community that permeates the city to this day. Not only did his efforts lead to a more unified community, but also worked to elevate their needs to city leaders, highlight their contributions to the city, and keep alive some of the traditions that Cape Verdeans still cherish from the "old country"…Cabo Verde. José enjoyed many interests and hobbies. They included reading, especially mystery and crime stories; writing, journaling and storytelling, even completing a series of short stories about his life that his family will seek to have published; cooking, especially Cape Verdean and Portuguese meals; playing and listening to music; deep sea fishing and swimming in the ocean. He loved watching all Boston sports but having grown up playing himself, he was especially passionate about soccer. While he enjoyed Boston's local teams, his passion for his favorite childhood soccer team from Lisbon – F.C. Belenenses, never waned. He also enjoyed watching mystery and detective tv shows and movies; gardening; and a strong interest and fondness for his home country, Cape Verde. José, who was referred to as "Zedy", "Pai", and "Tio" by his family and friends, adored his family, who ultimately came first in his life. He was most proud and happy to hold court during family gatherings, dinners and parties with his wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends; sharing memories and telling one of his many humor filled stories. These occasions will be among the moments when José will be both most missed and most celebrated by his family and friends. José is survived by his wife of 57 Years, Maria Évora; his children, Frank Évora, Belinda Évora Radovich, Carlos Évora, Alcides Évora and Aurea Évora; his children's spouses, Alan Radovich (Belinda), Maria Sanchez Évora (Carlos), Maria Martins-Évora (Alcides); his siblings, Ana Grace (Passed), Virato Évora (Passed), Matilda Baptista, Maria Évora (Passed), Gertrudes Évora, Silvestre Évora, Margarida Évora, Gabriel Évora, Izidro Évora; his grandchildren, Daniel Évora, Adrien Radovich, Myah Shelton, Marcus Shelton, Zoey Évora, Nathan Shelton, Klayton DaGraca, and Avery Évora; and several loving nieces and nephews, including Aurea Eliana Pinto, whom he and his wife helped raise as one of their own. Due to COVID-19 guidelines, services will be private for the immediate family; memorial services will be planned at a later date.