Joaquim "Jack" Nunes Mota, 94, passed peacefully on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at his home in Edison, NJ, surrounded by the love of his wife, Lucille Frances Silva, of 66 years, and his four children.

Joaquim was the last surviving child of the late Albert Nunes and Maria Rosa de Jesus, of Bustos, Portugal, and was the second youngest of eight children. He was named after his brother Joaquim, who died tragically as a young child. His family finds peace in knowing that he is once again together with his parents, brothers and sisters.

Joaquim dedicated his life to taking care of his family. He lived life to the fullest, reinventing himself over and over again along the way. He was a great storyteller, always entertaining his nine grandchildren with accounts of his life's many adventures that were fueled by his entrepreneurial spirit.

Joaquim was a "Jack" of many trades. In 1944, he left his childhood home of Bustos for Curacaos, Venezuela, to join his brother, Antonio. Together, they worked a variety of odd jobs in order to raise enough money to open a bakery. Just a few years later, he took a position as second cook on a merchant marine ship—though he was prone to sea sickness and, as he put it, spent much of his time "throwing out his guts," making the prospect of jumping overboard very attractive. The position, however, would lead him closer to his dream of coming to America.

In 1950, Joaquim arrived in the United States via Philadelphia and made his way to Pittsburg, CA., where his eldest brother Manuel lived. When he first arrived in California, he worked on a dairy farm and later an orchard, before using the money from the sale of the bakery to grow hay and raise cattle with his brother.

While at a Portuguese festa in 1952, Lucille Silva caught his eye as she walked along with her mother. As he often recounted, he immediately wanted to know who she was; but in those days, you did not just walk up and ask. So instead, he began attending every Portuguese folk dance at which her father served as a caller. Nearly a year later, Jack had worked up the nerve to ask Lucille to dance with him. They were married a year later in 1953.

With Lucille at his side, the time came for him to set out and start his own business. Working side by side, they borrowed $500 from her father to purchase a hay baler and leased 100 acres. By the end of their farming career in 1969, they were farming more than 3,000 acres. As their crops grew, so did their family. From 1954 to 1964, he and Lucille had four children.

He then took his family of six to New Jersey, where he later became a citizen in 1976. The move led him to explore new opportunities. He performed maintenance for the township of Maplewood and at Fedders Corporation in Edison. He later purchased an Exxon service station franchise and retired in 1992 from Celotex Corporation in Perth Amboy as head mechanic. Toward the end of his professional career, he began dabbling in real estate and investment properties in Florida, before he and Lucille moved to Deltona, FL, in 2000.

In addition to his beloved wife, Joaquim leaves behind his four devoted children: Catherine Stackhouse and her husband, Robert, of Sinking Spring, PA; Albert Mota of Edison; Diana Mota of Walkersville, MD; and Teresa Mota of Kendall Park, NJ. He is also remembered by his nine grandchildren: Derek Morgan; Jacqueline Neely and her husband, Harrison; Danielle Blue and her husband, Matt; Daniel Stackhouse and his wife, Kirsten; Alison Stackhouse; Matt Von den Steinen; Deanna Morgan; Justin Von den Steinen; and Grace Mota. And lastly, his great-grandchildren: Jamie Stackhouse, Sienna Ortega, Logan Blue, Gabriel Stackhouse, Adrianna Stackhouse, Henry Neely and Hannah Blue. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers Manuel Mota, Antonio Mota and Joaquim Mota; and sisters Maria Ferriera, Rosa Santos, Clarinda Faria and Cremilde Santos as well as all of his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Funeral services will begin on Saturday, August 10, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. from the Flynn and Son Funeral Home, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Liturgy at Our Lady of Peace, Amboy Ave., Fords, NJ, entombment will follow in Woodbridge Memorial Gardens Mausoleum in Woodbridge, NJ.

Visitation will be on Friday, August 9, 2019 from time 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Flynn and Son Funeral Home, 23 Ford Ave. Fords, NJ 08863. Funeral services will begin on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. from the Flynn and Son Funeral Home, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Liturgy at Our Lady of Peace Church, Fords, entombment will follow in the Woodbridge Memorial Gardens Mausoleum, in Woodbridge.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to either; Caring Hospice of Central New Jersey, 1095 King Georges Post Rd. Suite 703, Edison, NJ 08837 or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or at St.Jude.org.