Cornelia “Connie” Johanna Maria (Zuidgeest) Van Wingerden, a dearly loved mother, “oma” (grandmother in Dutch), great-grandmother, and great- great-grandmother died peacefully on June 6, 2026 at the Maravilla retirement community in Santa Barbara.
She was 10 days shy of her 102nd birthday.
A long-time resident of Carpinteria and a devoted Catholic parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church, Connie was the matriarch of our family. Her loss is a profound one given the countless lives that she touched in her century on earth.
Born on June 16, 1924 in Monster, The Netherlands, Connie grew up as a farmer’s daughter in the “Heul,” a nickname for Kwintsheul, a small tight knit village in the Westland region of Holland.
The Westland is southwest of The Hague and known worldwide as “The Glass City,” due to its status as the greenhouse capital of the world.
The oldest of eight siblings, Connie was 15 years old when Nazi Germany bombed Rotterdam in May 1940. Dutch forces surrendered four days after the invasion began, which led to a five-year occupation of Connie’s home country.
The war was far from abstract for Connie as her family was forced to house Nazi soldiers as boarders in their home. Connie recalled that she and her sisters brought their beds downstairs to sleep in the front room because the Nazi soldiers slept in their upstairs rooms.
During the war, Connie remembered riding her bicycle through the Westland nurseries to run errands for her family and to avoid the Nazi soldiers who were camped out in front of her house where they were stationed to guard a bridge.
Connie was between 15 and 20 years old during Holland’s wartime occupation, and she volunteered much of her time towards helping poor households, especially when the mothers were sick. She cooked meals with minimal resources, and mended clothes for the needy families.
After the war ended, Connie married a greenhouse grower named Cornelis van der Knaap in 1949. They adopted two boys together and later became foster parents to two girls.
In 1960, Connie’s husband died unexpectedly when she was only 36. As the story goes, Connie had several interested suitors. In the end, the last man standing was Cornelis “Case” Van Wingerden, a greenhouse grower and widower with six children who had lost his first wife Johanna van Steekelenburg to cancer.
Connie and Case held their wedding ceremony and reception on Aug. 25, 1961, and went home with their eight children to Naaldwijk, a neighboring village in the Westland.
The oldest child, Henry, who was 12 at the time when he first met Connie, asked his dad what they should call her. Case’s response was to call her “mama.” And so it was. They never used the word stepmother because Case’s children quickly came to view Connie as their real mother, which was no small feat.
Connie and Case made a brilliant team as they both enjoyed adventure and traveling, and they took the ultimate risk in 1967 when they led more than 30 members of the Van Wingerden family, including three of Case’s brothers and one of his sisters, to immigrate to Carpinteria, California, to build Dutch-style green houses and start a cut flower business called Dutch Brothers.
At the time, the Los Angeles Times and the Carpinteria Herald wrote several news stories about the “Dutch invasion” that arrived in the small California beach town.
Connie was the last living member of the original five couples who immigrated to Carpinteria nearly 60 years ago. And if it were not for her perseverance and her decision to sell the nursery that she inherited from her first husband, the family might have returned to Holland when they encountered struggles in their first years in Carpinteria.
As it was, Connie and Case achieved success through hard work and determination and went on to support their children in starting their own cut flower and farming operations, many of which are still thriving in Carpinteria to this day.
We will remember Connie as a singer in the St. Joseph’s choir; world traveler; talented player of bridge and lawn bowls; skilled knitter and crocheter who craft ed beautiful blankets, booties, and baby hats for her family; an accomplished cook, especially of our beloved Dutch meatballs and Dutch desserts, including “oliebollen” and “appelflappen;” an exacting keeper of a spotless home; and a warm and inviting hostess who orchestrated joyful pool parties and spirited games of cards.
Finally, we are comforted that Connie has now been reunited in heaven with Case, whom she called “Pa,” after 24 years as a widow.
Connie was preceded in death by her parents Anthonius Adrianus Zuidgeest and Johanna Petronella Margaretha Maria van Dijk; brother Jan; sisters, Riet, Leny and Evarien; first husband Cornelis; sons Paul and Hank; grandson Paul; and her second husband Case.
She is survived by her sister Jo van der Arend, 97; her brother Albert Zuidgeest, 89, of Kwintsheul in The Netherlands; six children and their spouses; 18 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; and many beloved godchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Her children are Henry (Rosanne), Jerry (Beverly), Case (Jennie), Jeannette (Michael), René (June), Steve (Teresa), and daughter-in-law Teressa.
Grandchildren are Nicole (Mark), Mieke (John), Rachel (Nathan), Peter (Cam), Karen, David (Cindy), Becky, Alex (Angela), Carolyn (Dan), Nicholas, Sondra (Francisco), Ryan (Brittany), Ivor (Brooks), Gaby (Raul), Lupe (Rafael), Arely, Robert, and Jennifer (Garth).
Great-grandchildren: Kai, Lea, Ella, Abbie, Skyla, Tucker, Sadie, Philip, Liam, Sophia, Owen, Adrian, Milo, Vanessa, Cyrus, Asher, Olivia, Jaden, Dallas, Daniel, David, Maverik, Zoey, Kate, Cora, Petra, Noah, Isaiah, Breanna, Samantha, Emma, Éowyn, and Esmé. Great-great-grandchild: Isaiah.
Please join Connie’s family for her Rosary, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11, and Funeral Mass, 10 a.m. Friday, June 12, both at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 532 Linden Ave., Carpinteria.
Her graveside service will take place at Carpinteria Cemetery, 1501 Cravens Lane, after the funeral. A reception will follow at the cemetery gazebo.
In honor of Connie’s memory, please make donations in her name to: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1532 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013.