AROUND 150 people attended a beautiful thanksgiving service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Himbleton on Tuesday to celebrate the life of popular Bromsgrove hair stylist Alberto Policarpo.
The family walked behind a horse-drawn hearse decorated with roses that Alberto and his wife Karen had grown in their garden.
The hymns, poems and prayers were personally chosen by Alberto during his illness and captured his love for life, family and everything English.
Karen said: “There were tears and laughter and the service was concluded with the hymn ‘We Will Go Out With Joy’ with lots of clapping.”
The wake was attended by close friends and family.
Karen added the family would like to thank everyone who attended the service and for all the money raised for St Richards Hospice, Worcester, in her husband’s memory. He was treated at St Richard’s Hospice towards the end and passed away peacefully on June 23, aged 57.
Alberto was born on Madeira, the youngest of eight children. His father died before he was born.
Karen said: “He came from humble origins which led to him being blessed with a strong work ethic and family values.”
At 14 he came to the UK on holiday to visit his brother. A revolution took place in Portugal while he was here, leading to the UK Government inviting him to stay.
After schooling in Birmingham he searched for his ideal career, opting to become a hair stylist.
He trained at the world-renowned Stenier’s, quickly becoming one of their apprentices of the year.
His zest for life and adventure led to him taking his scissors aboard Cunard’s QE2, styling hair for the rich and famous.
After a few years he returned to dry land and became one of Stenier’s youngest managers, eagerly taking charge of their Wolverhampton branch.
In 1980 he opened his first ever salon in Bromsgrove. He started off in the Birmingham Road before moving to Worcester Road and, for the last ten years, in New Road.
During his prostate cancer battle he kept his illness quiet because he wanted to carry on working as long as possible and did not want anyone to treat him any differently. But in February he was forced to give up the job he loved and the salon closed.
Karen said: “Armed with the wonderful surname of Policarpo and being a very creative people person it seemed obvious he would inevitably become a hair stylist.
“His skills with both scissors and people ensured he became a success and he developed a loyal clientele that remained with him over many years.”
Alberto and Karen met in 1984 at the launch of his Kidderminster salon and they married in 1990 at St Mary Magdalene Church, Himbleton.
The pair had a day trip to Blenheim Palace after the wedding as they both had their own salons with clients who needed their hair doing.
The couple went on to have four children – Katie, Ben, Amy and Gabriella and later grandchildren.
The family described him as a loving husband, caring father and a kind grandfather to his grandchildren.
