Celeste Matilda Andrade, 81, a longtime resident of Belmont and most recently of Newton, peacefully transitioned on Monday, June 1, 2026, at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain.
Celeste, the second of three daughters, was born to Joseph Andrade and Ruth Dias Monteiro Andrade on Dec. 31, 1944, in Providence, Rhode Island. She grew up in Fox Point, the tight-knit Cape Verdean community where her father’s parents, among the first Cape Verdeans to settle in Rhode Island, were voluntary immigrants who arrived on Cape Verdean-owned packets at the beginning of the 20th century.
Born into an academically and musically gifted family, Celeste, a classically trained violinist, began lessons at an early age. She played 1st Violin in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and sang alto in the a cappella choir at Classical High School. At her 1962 graduation, she performed a violin solo of Felix Borowski’s “Adoration.”
In 1966, Celeste graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, earning a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in French and a minor in mathematics. Celeste was the team captain of Brandeis University’s undefeated women’s fencing team and received the Max I. Silber Award from Brandeis in 1966 for her contributions to sports.
She earned a Master’s of Education in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education in 1989, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy in 1998. In a distinguished career spanning decades, her professional life centered around educational administration and management, teaching and training, and data processing.
She was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2001, and to the very end of her life, Celeste shared her testimony, her musical talents, and, most importantly, her love, with her family and church community.
Celeste is predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Ruth Andrade, and her older sister, Elizabeth Anne (Andrade) Moss.
She is survived by her sister, Claire Andrade-Watkins, of Providence, Rhode Island. She is the beloved aunt to Patrick Dozier (Hilary), Jacquelyn Moss, Lisa Moss; Callie Watkins Liu, (Mark); great-aunt to Madison Dozier, Mia Dozier, Darnell Joseph Moss, Jarnee Xavier, João Xavier, Ozzykai Liu; great-great aunt to Darnell Joseph Moss Jr., and Dinari Moss, in addition to scores of adoring aunts and uncles, cousins; extended family; friends, family of the heart; and her faith community.