Elaine C. (Silva) Cabral of Eastham died unexpectedly on Sept. 13, 2021, at Cape Cod Hospital as a result of injuries she sustained in an automobile accident the previous evening. She died peacefully, surrounded by her five children, who declined to provide further details about the incident. Elaine was 87 years old.
Born in Gloucester on July 8, 1934, she was the eldest child of Frank I. Silva, a fisherman, and Lillian (Mitchell) Silva, a homemaker. The family moved to Provincetown in 1944, where Elaine attended Provincetown High School, graduating with the Class of 1952. It was in Provincetown that she met and married Philip Cabral, who had returned to his hometown following service in the U.S. Navy in Hawaii. They settled in Provincetown, where they raised their children.
They bought their first house at 42 Bradford St., across from the Bonnie Doone Restaurant. Elaine became the restaurant’s bookkeeper by day and hostess at night. Meanwhile, Philip was the bookkeeper at Duarte Motors by day and fry cook at the Dairy Queen at night. Later, they turned their home into the neighborhood grocery store, Cabral’s Market, which they ran together for many years. Upon Philip’s death in 1987, Elaine became an indispensable fixture at Seamen’s Bank. After an attempt at retirement, she returned to Seamen’s until her untimely death.
In 2000, she sold her house on Franklin Street and built a new one in Eastham, which continued to be the gathering place for the family. She loved to travel and had many other hobbies and interests, but family always came first. Thanksgiving and Christmas were among many feasts held at Elaine’s home, where there was always room for one more.
She leaves a large, loving family, including her children, Brian Cabral and husband Robert Adamcik, Sharon and husband Adam Votaw, Alan and wife Kimberly Cabral, Amy and husband Christopher Lucy, and Susan Cabral and husband Joseph Lema. She is also survived by six grandchildren: Sean, Travis, Daniel, Michael, Nora, and Ethan; and four great-grandchildren: Camden, Cooper, Lennox, and Sutton.
Elaine also leaves her siblings and their spouses: Philip and wife Lorraine Silva, Carol and husband Francis Silva, and Teresa Morris; many cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and many dear friends far and wide. Her smile, warmth, and generosity of spirit are greatly missed and will be long remembered.
Family and friends are invited to a Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23 at St. Peter the Apostle Church, 11 Prince St., Provincetown. Burial will follow at the Cabral family lot in Saint Peter’s Cemetery, Provincetown.
To share a memory or leave an online condolence for the family, visit gatelyfuneralservice.com.
