Manuel Edward Baptiste, "Manny," 94, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, May 18, 2017. Manny now joins Dorothea Rose (Herlihy) Baptiste, "Dot", his beloved wife of nearly 75 years.  His last surviving contemporary is his beloved sister Evelyn (William) Dukeman. Manny was the steadfast patriarch of a large family, a devoted father to Robert (Patricia), Richard, Diane Williams and Marion O'Shaughnessy, beloved grandfather to Laura Baptiste (Brian Kildee), Ed (Kaitlin) Baptiste, Michelle Buckman, Christine Williams, Brian (Amy) O'Shaughnessy, Michael O'Shaughnessy, Aileen O'Shaughnessy, and Sarah O'Shaughnessy, and joyful great grandfather to Rosalia, Ben, Theo, Hugo, Sam, Miles, Zoe, Declan and Brennan.

Manny was born on September 24, 1922 in Cambridge Massachusetts, to Manuel and Marion (Rego) Baptista, the eldest son in a Portuguese family of seven children. He spent his childhood in East Cambridge, starting his own family there with Dot before moving to Lexington in 1952, where they built a home that became the physical and spiritual center to four generations of their family.

He proudly served in the United States Army during World War II in the Pacific theater. Manny was a visionary and independent spirit, working hard and taking calculated risks to direct his own course and provide for his family.  A man of unrelenting focus, drive, and work ethic, soon after the war he started Specialty Aluminum and Bronze, a foundry that played an important role in the burgeoning innovation of the time, including making specialized parts for the Apollo XI moon mission.

Manny was an unflappable force of strength and loyalty to his family, and his marriage to Dot was one of both devotion and true partnership, the foundation on which our family continues to thrive. His love was, in his way, close to the surface, manifest in his quick wit, mischievous grin, playful humor, and his generosity to share the wisdom of his experience in even the smallest things. Each of the people he loved felt the special place we held in his world.

Those who loved Manny feel this loss acutely and with deep sadness. While a world without Manny and Dot seems unfathomable, all those fortunate to live within the orbit of his love know that the gift of his life is inextricable from our very selves.

Funeral from the Douglass Funeral Home, 51 Worthen Road, Lexington, Massachusetts at 9am on Monday, May 22 ^nd , followed by Mass of Christian Burial to be held at St. Brigid's Church at 10am.  Internment at Westview Cemetery.

Visiting hours will be held on Sunday, May 21 ^st from 3pm to 7pm.