North Smithfield, RI — Antonio Cortes, 72, of Wareham, died Thurs., Nov. 8th, at the Woodland Convalescent Center in N. Smithfield, RI, after a period of failing health. He was the husband of Kristyne M. (Rhodes) Cortes.
The son of the late Antonio and Olivia (Cabral) Cortes of East Freetown, Mr. Cortes was raised there where he worked for the family business, Cortes Package and Grocery Store which he later co-owned for many years. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Cortes teamed up with Lenny Boehler to be the first driver of the #3 modified race car, "Old Blue." His long racing career took him to many New England speedways as well as Daytona International Speedway. Tony was also a lifelong and avid hunter, fisherman and boat enthusiast whose memberships included the Fairhaven Coast Guard Auxiliary and the OTIS Fish and Game Club. He especially enjoyed whitetail deer hunting season in the White Mountains from the camp, "The Bear Trap."
Mr. Cortes was a boiler turbine and steam engineer for local area power plants including Brayton Point in Somerset, Cannon Street in New Bedford and the Canal Generating Plant in Sandwich.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Sandra Cortes and her husband, Scott Mathes of Gilford, VT and Susan (Govoni) Sequiera and her husband, Buzz of Buzzards Bay; two sisters, Evelyn Sylvia of Dartmouth and Susan Macedo of Mattapoisett; a brother, Robert Cortes of Ft. Myers, FL and six grandchildren, Tenzin Mathes and Morgan, Elisabeth, Christine, Xavier and Gabriel Sequiera. Visiting hours will be Mon., Nov. 12th, at the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway, (Rt. 28), Wareham from 4 — 7 PM. Graveside services on Tuesday will be private. Donations in his memory may be made to a charity of one's choice. For directions and on-line guestbook visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com.
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Sources: Standard-Times