Loretta Amaral Alves of Provincetown died on Feb. 6, 2024 at Cape Cod Hospital after a brief illness. No specific cause of death was given. She was 80.
Born in Provincetown on May 17, 1943, Loretta was the daughter of Edward and Doris (Prada) Amaral. She grew up on Montello Street; from there, she and her cousin Jane “used to roller skate all over town, using skates that were attached to their shoes with a key,” recalled her cousin Janet Francis.
She spent every Sunday of her childhood with her family, either on the beach or on the dunes.
Loretta attended Provincetown High School, where she sang in the Glee Club, was a member of the Social Club, and served on the Long Pointer business staff for the class of 1961, her graduation year. Her class prophecy predicted that “she surely will know all” as a telephone operator, which is exactly what she did.
After high school, Loretta worked for the telephone company, first as an operator in Provincetown. When she was moved up to the business office, she was transferred to Boston; she completed her phone company career in Hyannis.
“Her big thing was her involvement with the church,” Janet said. At St. Peter the Apostle Church in Provincetown, she served as a eucharistic minister, on the parish council, and in the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Loretta was awarded the Marian Medal by the Fall River Diocese “for her dedicated service to the church.”
She is survived by her cousins, Janet Russe Francis of Orleans and Jane Russe Cavanaugh of East Longmeadow; her stepson, Joel Grozier and partner Jennifer Creech of North Truro; and her niece, Carolyn Amaral Kosensky of Lakeland, Fla. She was “Aunt Loretta” to numerous other cousins who survive her. She leaves many close friends and her church family as well.
Loretta was predeceased by her husband, Robert T. Alves of North Truro, who died in March 2004, and by her brother, Ronald Amaral of Provincetown.
Her funeral will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 20 at St. Peter the Apostle Church, with burial to follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Donations in Loretta’s memory may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Society in Provincetown.
