Peter Simon Camara, musician, chocolate connoisseur, a skillful storyteller and an accomplished businessman, formerly of North Kingstown, passed away Monday, January 23, 2017.

Born and raised in Sao Miguel, Azores on March 7, 1946, he was a son of the late Luis and Maria Jose (Oliveira) Camara. He was also the caring brother of Filomena Vargas of Sao Miguel and the late Jose Luis Cavaco Camara and Maria Eduarda Gaspar. His father was a farmer and Peter spent many days working with him throughout his youth. At the age of eighteen he served in the Portuguese Army as a truck driver.

Peter Camara was a dapper and very good looking man who settled down at the age of nineteen to marry his lovely wife Lizette Camara, 51 spectacular years ago. He was the father to two children, Peter S. Camara Jr. and Paul D. Camara. While he was not biologically considered their father he opened his family to his son's wives Michelle Camara, and Julie Camara and treated them as though they were his own. Along with his children he had 5 grand children and two grand-dogs. He was the cherished grandfather to Katelyn, Peter S. Camara III, Shawn, Abby and Emily. Peter never missed an opportunity to spend time with his family and savored any moment he could spend with them.  Whether it be around the fireplace discussing life or in front of the TV talking about why FC Porto was the best soccer team in the world.

Peter was well known throughout Rhode Island for his very successful business PC landscaping, a business that lives on through his two sons. His attention to detail and his personal philosophy of settling for "Nothing but the best" earned him the respect as well as the lifelong friendship of his clients, as well as his employees. Among all other things, he was an achiever with an old school work ethic.

However, Peter was not all work; he was deeply passionate about music. He was an excellent musician and played in the church band. Anyone who had ever taken a car ride with him would have heard the countless stories about the crazy nights he spent playing in the band.

He loved the ocean and enjoyed fishing. Also he was a cook, he made perhaps the best Portuguese Kale soup there ever will be; with enough pepper to burn your lips off. Everyday he ate the only food he considered to worthy of his taste buds, his wife's Portuguese cooking.
 
A comedian of sorts, he never missed an opportunity to pull a prank or to make someone laugh. He was nearly always laughing, smiling and concocting new plans to prank someone.

He had a life-long love affair with anything that contained chocolate. Chocolate ice cream, candy, cake; you name it. He would never miss an opportunity to sneak one while his wife was not looking or to eat his traditional 4 P.M chocolate ice cream. For him Chocolate was not just food; it was a way of life.

He and his wife traveled extensively, from beautiful islands in the Caribbean to the frigid cities of Canada. However, in all his traveling he found a small town in Florida called Palm Coast to be his favorite. At any chance he had he would dash away to Florida to enjoy the beautiful weather; it was his life long dream to live there. In the Last year of his life he fulfilled this dream; spending any chance he could soaking up the Florida sun and listening to his radio.

He was a stylish man, known best for his classic PC landscaping shirt tucked into a pair of shorts paired with boat shoes. His style has echoed on through the decades as he is a fashion icon for the modern day landscaper. On any given day you could find him patrolling the grounds of his home, looking for so much as a leaf out of place. His home as well as his style were impeccable examples of the way he led his life; without compromise, and without socks.

He despised complainers, Mondays, cold weather, the coach of the Portuguese national soccer team, being told what he could not do, animals eating his plants, and missing his favorite soap opera. But most of all he could not stand lazy people, at any given time you could expect him to tell you to "get your hands out of your pockets and get to work". He was an extremely dedicated, hard worker who motivated those around him to work hard.

He will be dearly missed by all of his friends and family, all we can hope is that he's enjoying all the chocolate he can eat on a beach somewhere.

His funeral will be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 8:45 am from THE URQUHART-MURPHY FUNERAL HOME, 800 Greenwich Avenue, Route 5, Warwick (Exit 12A on I-95) with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 am in Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Traverse Street, Providence. Burial in Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery, North Kingstown. Relatives and friends are invited. Calling Hours will be held on Monday from 4:00-7:00 pm.

 

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