Constance "Connie" June (Hopkins) Gates

Constance “Connie” June Gates

June 16, 1931-May 10, 2024

Constance “Connie” June Gates, 92, of Roaring Spring, died Saturday evening at Homewood at Martinsburg.  She was born in Six Mile Run, daughter of the late William Hopkins and Mary (Daugherty) Bissell.  She married H. Dean “Mace” Gates on January 1, 1949, in Roaring Spring.

Surviving are her four children: Bradley M. Gates and wife, Kathy of Fredericksburg, VA, Brian L. Gates of St. Mary’s, Brent E. Gates and wife, Deborah of Roaring Spring, and Bridget A. Thornton and husband, Jim of Clarion; 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Connie was preceded in death by two sisters and one brother.

She was a 1948 graduate of Roaring Spring High School.  After graduation, she married the love of her life, H. Dean “Mace” Gates.  The two moved to North Carolina as Mace was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a left-handed pitcher.  After Mace sustained a career ending injury several years later, the couple returned to Roaring Spring and made their life there.

Connie spent most of her life as a proud homemaker, wife, and mother/grandmother to her four children and many grandchildren. She and Mace were married for over 70 years before his passing.

Throughout her life, Connie was very community minded and served in countless volunteer roles in Roaring Spring.  She was very active in the Nason Hospital Auxiliary, served as past president of the Roaring Spring Junior Women’s Club, and was a proud and active member of the Bare Memorial Church of God, serving in the Women’s Christian Service Council.  Later in life, she also spent time tutoring at the elementary school and volunteering with hospice.

Perhaps Connie’s most important acts of service were to her children and grandchildren.  She found great joy in hosting family parties, cooking favorite meals, and opening her home for sleepovers and other gatherings.  She was a friend to many and well-known for her hospitality, kind words and genuine concern for others.   Her greatest desire over the last few years was to be with the Lord in her heavenly home.

Friends will be received from 11 am to 1 pm on Thursday, May 16th at the Bare Memorial Church of God, Roaring Spring, with a brief service to follow.  Pastor Rachel Neely-Pletcher will be officiating.  Interment will be made in Greenlawn Cemetery, Roaring Spring.  Arrangements are by John K. Bolger Funeral Home Inc., Martinsburg.

Contributions in Connie’s memory can be given to the Bare Memorial Church of God, 508 E. Main St., Roaring Spring, PA 16673.