Constance Minnie Gomes, green thumb gardener, expert homemaker and queen of her own kitchen, died Friday, February 27, 2015.

Connie, better known as "Ma" or "Nanny" to not only her own children and grandchildren respectively, but to their friends as well, may be most well-known for her signature dessert, lemon cake. When she wasn't in the kitchen, Connie could be found volunteering at the Scituate Senior Center, out to lunch with friends or in her garden at her Kent Street property, formerly the location of her parents Alfredo and Alice Gomes' Pitcock Farm.

Her whole life, Connie was a humbly beautiful woman. She had three children, Kim Dias, Robert Lopes and Jennifer Steen, with her first husband, the late Robert John Lopes and later married former Scituate Police officer Hipolito Andrade though they later divorced. She is also survived by her sister Deborah Ann Rosa, her grandchildren Brittany Lawrence, Taylor Lawrence, Brandon Powell, Cory Powell, Olivia Steen and one great grandson.

Though formerly employed at Scituate Federal Savings Bank, her focus in her career, as in her life, was taking care of people. She worked for the Norwell VNA and in private home health care until her retirement. Throughout her retirement however, she remained an active member of Scituate's Cape Verdean community.

Not particularly a technology buff, Connie favored crossword puzzles over cell phones (she still had a very un-smart flip phone) but enjoyed Skyping with her granddaughter on her iPad or perusing Facebook. A typical evening at Connie's consisted of watching Wheel of Fortune, eating butterscotch hard candies and sipping imported English tea. She cooked regularly with her son Robert.

A wake will be held Thursday, March 5, 2015 from 3-8pm at McNamara-Sparrell funeral home, 1 Summer Street in Cohasset. A funeral mass will be held Friday, March 6, 2015 at 10am at St. Mary of the Nativity Church, 1 Kent Street, Scituate. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Lung Association of the Northeast.

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