Obituary of Eva Nunes

Eva Helen Nunes passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 31, 2022.  She was 89 years old.  Eva was born and raised in Somerville.  She was one of three children and the only daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Joseph and Helena Nunes.  She was a 1951 graduate of Somerville High School.  She met her future husband, Charles Nunes after high school at a Portuguese picnic.  Her friend thought it was funny that they had the same last name and encouraged Eva to talk with him.  They married in 1952 and lived in Arlington for a time before buying their forever home in Burlington in 1966.  She worked as a supervisor at RCA in Burlington in their Publishing Department for 20 years.

She was a very religious woman, and had prayer cards marked for each family member. If anyone was sick or needed help, they were added to her daily prayer list, and of course, they always got one of Nana’s famous hugs.

Eva’s family was the center of her universe. She was truly the matriarch of the family, a role she assumed following the death of her mother, as the last surviving child. She kept in touch with her extended family, as her mother had done, making sure everyone stayed connected. Eva was the organizer and planner and had her Nana sayings, such as, “don’t put it down, put it away.”

Her house was the gathering place for almost all her family’s important events including holidays, birthdays, First Communions, graduations, and any other possible reason for her family to gather. She was an excellent cook, a wonderful hostess, and had a dining room table that could accommodate 16 dinner guests. She carried on her mother's tradition of Portuguese sweet bread, malasadas, biscoitos cookies and “dream” stuffing. She made custom themed cakes for her children and Grandchildren's birthdays. Eva would be running around making sure everyone had whatever they needed and everything had to be perfect. This running around got her the nickname, “Speedy Gonzalez”.

There were also many memorable weekends and vacations spent at the family cottage in Bristol Rhode Island when her children were young. The cottage was always filled with aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends and it kept the Nunes family bond forever strong. 

Eva also enjoyed working around her yard and especially tending to her flower gardens and variety of indoor plants. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and embroidery and made sweaters, dresses, and afghans, hats, and mittens for all her family and friends. She studied piano as a child and later rekindled her musical talent so she could accompany her granddaughter Sally singing and help all her grandchildren learn music. She could also be happily amused watching music videos, and she even went to a Loverboy concert in her 50’s.

Whenever you went to her house, she made you watch something that she had recorded especially for you. No matter what though, she always had to be in full control of the remote. When she was a child, she told her brother her dream was to have a movie theater in her house, and when large screen TVs became available, she had exactly that. Even to the point where she would edit movies to make them age appropriate for her grandchildren to watch.

Eva became very comfortable using a home computer. She could turn out professional looking personalized greeting cards for everyone and for any occasion. She also enjoyed doing puzzles and researching anything that interested her on the Internet. She would email you links for things she thought you needed to know.

Eva also had many fish tanks when her grandchildren were young for their entertainment and education, raising fancy guppies that she sold to the pet store because her fish were bigger and healthier than they could get.

Over the past year she spent an increasing amount of time at her husband's side as his primary caregiver. They enjoyed watching TV shows and soap operas together daily. She had a wonderful life, always surrounded by all her family.  Her memory will be treasured, her love will be a guide, and her spirit will live on in the hearts of all who she loved. 

Eva was the beloved wife of 70 years of Charles F. Nunes. She was the loving mother of Charles Nunes & his wife Catharine of Burlington, Roger Nunes of Aldie, VA, and Shirley Lunetta & her husband Richard of Burlington. She was predeceased by her brothers, James and Joseph Nunes.  Eva was the extremely proud Nana of Sally and Richard Lunetta, Christopher Nunes, and Bryan Bonaccolto.

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Sunday, Jan. 8 from 1:00 to 3:00pm and Monday, Jan 9 from 8:30 to 9:30am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Margaret Church in St. Veronica Parish, www.stveronicama.org, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10:00am. Services will conclude with a burial in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington.

Memorials in Eva’s name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or Minuteman Senior Services www.minutemansenior.org, 26 Crosby Drive, Bedford, MA 01730.

For obituary, online guestbook see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net