He might not be as well-known as Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, global adventurers Vasco de Gama and Magellan, or celebrated poet Luís de Camões, but this Portuguese-Canadian from Chatham certainly left a significant mark in Southwestern Ontario.
António Joaquim Pereira Alves do Forno was honored posthumously with an induction into the Portuguese-Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto at the end of May.
Do Forno passed away in October.
Walk of Fame representatives stated he was a pioneering community leader whose dedicated service shaped the Portuguese community of Southwestern Ontario for more than forty years.
“António built a legacy of leadership, entrepreneurship, and cultural preservation,” said Walk of Fame officials.
Born in Portugal in 1935, Do Forno moved to Canada in 1966.
In 1971, Do Forno co-founded the Portuguese Canadian Social Club of Chatham and became its first president. He represented Portuguese Canadians for over twenty years on the advisory body to the Portuguese government regarding emigration policies and communities abroad, and he was appointed Honorary Consul of Portugal in Canada in 1998.
He also set up Portuguese language programs throughout Chatham and nearby areas and secured funding from both the Portuguese and Canadian governments to help preserve Portuguese heritage in Chatham and Leamington.
For more than thirty years, he ran Forno’s Travel Agency, served as a provincially appointed Notary Public for four decades, volunteered with the Knights of Columbus for over forty years, and helped establish the annual Nossa Senhora de Fátima celebrations in Chatham.
His contributions received recognition across Portugal, Canada, and Ontario.
“Words cannot express how proud and happy I am for my father to receive this acknowledgement. While I wish he could have been here to receive it himself, this is an acknowledgement of the amazing life of community that he did for over 40 years for the Portuguese community in Southwestern Ontario,” said his son Paul do Forno.
June 10 is Portugal Day.
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