Joseph Ribeiro, 89, of Fall River, husband of Leona (Guidotti) Ribeiro, died at home on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, after an illness. Born in, and a lifelong resident of, Fall River, he was one of five children born to the late Mary (Vieira) Ribeiro and the late Joaquin Ribeiro. He attended public school in Fall River but left in the 9 ^th grade to help support his family during the Great Depression years.

In 1946 he joined the U. S. Navy, served in the Pacific Theatre and occupation of Japan during World War II, and was honorably discharged as a disabled veteran in 1947.

On his return from WWII he worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Prison System and for the Department of the Navy in Newport, Rhode Island. He eventually joined the Fall River Fire Department in 1955 and served 21 years, retiring in 1976. Mr. Ribeiro had also worked as a longshoremen and was a member of the Rhode Island chapter of the International Longshoremen's Association.

He cared deeply about his community and served as a Deputy Sheriff with Bristol County for many years. A well-known fixture in city politics for 5 decades, Mr. Ribeiro participated in numerous mayoral campaigns and was an active delegate for the Democratic State convention for many years.

Additionally, Mr. Ribeiro was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Benevolent Order of Elks, and the International Firefighters Association.

A born "Do it Yourself" man skilled in carpentry, auto-mechanics, plumbing and more, he was proud to have passed along many of these skills to his family members, including his only son, Brian.

Besides his wife, of 63 years, he is survived by: a brother, Manuel Ribeiro; a son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Brian J. Ribeiro and Dr. Marie J. Trenga-Ribeiro; grandchildren, Caitlin Ribeiro, Paul Ribeiro and his wife Heather (Dittman) Ribeiro, and Adam Ribeiro, as well as 'honorary' grandchildren, Peter Bagarella and Isaiah Ware; nephews, David Bruce Ribeiro and his wife Pauline (Proulx) Ribeiro, Richard LeClerc and his wife Pat (Marcoux) LeClerc, Thomas LeClerc and his wife Cynthia (Estrella) LeClerc; nieces, Sandra (Ribeiro) Levesque and Linda (Ribeiro) Wollham; and numerous grand-nieces & grand-nephews. Joseph was also a brother of the late Anne LeClerc, Harold Ribeiro and James Ribeiro.

His Funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday, March 28th, in Holy Rosary Church followed by his committal with military honors at Notre Dame Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider making a donation in Mr. Ribeiro's memory to: the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, 800-822-6344, www.stjude.org ; or to a charity of your choice.