João De Deus Costa

João De Deus Costa, 85, of Stoughton, passed away peacefully on June 29, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Brava, Cape Verde, João came into his own in Dakar, Senegal, where he mastered the art of jewelry and clockmaking, traveling to Austria and other countries abroad to train on grandfather and cuckoo clock repair. A third-generation jeweler fluent in five languages, João followed the love of his life, Manuela, to the U.S., keeping his childhood promise to go wherever she went. He worked for the Kingsley Gordon Company before founding Stoughton Jewelry Store, where his craftsmanship and character built lifelong customer relationships. João was joyful, generous, and deeply loyal - a gifted storyteller who had a way of connecting with people of all ages. He was a devoted father to his three daughters and approached fatherhood with the same skill and heart he brought to his work, always ready to “fix everyone’s problems” - from a flat tire, or broken clasp, to new drywall or the deeper matters of life. Whether sharing tales of his travels, watching country-western films, swimming, or playing cards, his greatest joy was being with his family, and he will be remembered as someone who truly lived. A saying my father would live by would be “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

In addition to his wife, João is survived by his daughters, Maria M. Lopes and her husband Chris and Adelina M. Shea and her husband Christopher all of Easton and Julia C. Rodenhiser and her husband John of Stoughton as well as his grandchildren, Chris, Daniel and Mason Lopes, Benicio Gotay and Luciana Rodenhiser. He was the brother of Benjamin Costa, Claudette Xavier and Mariana DaCosta all of Pawtucket, RI, Maria Lourdes Costa of Florida, Manuela Carrara of Medford, Maria Young of Utah, Silvio DaCosta of Taunton, Martin DaCosta of Switzerland and the late Ilirio Costa, Oliveiro Costa and Manuel Costa.

Visiting Hours will be held in the Farley Funeral Home, 358 Park St. (Rt. 27) Stoughton on Monday, July 7 from 4-7 PM. Funeral will be held from the Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 8 at 9:15 AM followed by a Funeral Mass at St. James Church, Stoughton at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Stoughton. In lieu of flowers, donations in João‘s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 320 Nevada Street, Suite 201, Newton, MA 02460 (www.alz.org/manh).