Hilary Stanislause De Souza

Hilary Stanislause De Souza, lovingly known as Papy, passed peacefully to our Lord on June 20, 2020. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana on May 4, 1924 to Isabel and Guilherme DeSouza. He had 10 brothers and sisters, Aurelio, John, Ilma, Romeo, Manuel, Julian, Juliet, Michael, Roy and Marion. In 1949, he immigrated to the United States, by way of Ellis Island with 20 dollars to his name. He was quickly drafted by the US army, where he had a long and fulfilling career as a Chief Warrant Officer. During his career, he was stationed all over the world and while in France, a French Girl, Annick, caught his eye at an officers' Dance. No words were needed (he only spoke English and she only spoke French), because they fell in love and were married in Angouleme, France. They were married for 63 years this July. They raised three beautiful daughters: Isabel, Brigitte and Audrey. Hilary served in Korea and Vietnam twice and retired from the US army in 1979. Some of his commendations include: UN svc medal, meritorious service medal, GCM, NDSM, Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze stars. After his retirement, Papy enjoyed many of his loves in life, which included working with his hands and the arts. He became a wonderful artist in his golden years, which included beautifully made wood pieces and paintings of landscapes and places that inspired him. He had no formal education beyond high school, but he was always reading a book and taught himself most of the knowledge he acquired. His favorite subjects included literature, the cosmos and learning about the great artists like DaVinci and Michelangelo. His knowledge and love for the arts added a richness to his life and those around him, he was always eager to share a poem or a story from what he had read. His legacy and love can be seen in his wife, Annick, children, grandchildren: Jessica, Cassandra, Chris, Stephan, Erick, Krystelle, Lynisa, Patrick, Anni, Camille, and Emma and Great grandchildren: Levi, Justus, Annabelle, Silas, Micah, Michael, Annalise, Emilia, and Leila. We will miss this renaissance man more than he can imagine and look forward to the day where we meet again. “Now cracks a noble heart.—Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!” His life will be celebrated with a mass at 9:00 AM on Friday, June 26 at St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr. He will be interred at a private ceremony with full honors at Ft. Bliss Cemetery. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The Wounded Warrior Project https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org or Creative Kids El Paso https://creativekidsart.org/donate/