Obituary of Maria Joao (Silva) Baia

Byfield - Maria Joao (Silva) Baia, 45, beloved wife of Paul Baia of Byfield, died unexpectedly at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Wednesday evening. Born in Graciosa, Azores, Portugal, she was the daughter of Maria Manuela Silva of Peabody and the late Joao Medina Silva. She emigrated from the Azores to the United States as a young girl. She lived in Lowell as a young girl where she attended schools. Mrs. Baia combined her entrepreneurial skills and dedicated spirit of getting things done by operating her own cleaning service in the Byfield area. Maria was a leader within her family, and she will be remembered as a Matriarch with her brothers and children, as family values were important for her. She is survived by: her husband, Paul Baia of Byfield, with whom she shared seven years of marriage; two daughters, Alyce Mesquita and Micaela Mesquita, both of Byfield; two step-daughters, Courtney Baia of Hadley, MA and Ashley Baia of Washington, D.C.; her mother, Maria Manuela Silva of Peabody; four brothers, John Silva of Salem, Leo Silva of Bradford; Michael Silva and Jim Silva, both of Salem, and many nieces and nephews. A visitation will be held on Monday from 4 to 8 P.M. in the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St. location, Peabody. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to gather on Tuesday at 8 AM from the funeral home, followed by a Funeral Mass at 9 AM in St. John's Church, Peabody. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Salem. Expressions of sympathy may be made to any Children's Charity of one's choice