Amanda Andres Obituary

Amanda Anne (Breuhaus) Andres was born March 25, 1913, in Elmhurst, Illinois, the fourth child of Edward and Amanda (Hoelke) Breuhaus. She was known for most of her life as "Lovey" because, as her father declared, her name meant "worthy to be loved." She lived up to her name. Upon graduation from York Community High School, she attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts with the intention of pursuing clothing design, worked under noted costumer Minne Schmidt, and then designed and produced a line of stuffed animals merchandised under the name of "Lovey Pups" in concessions at the Chicago World's Fair of 1933. She would remain an avid seamstress, professionally (for Marshal Field and Co., where she altered gowns and specialized in customized, corrective, post-mastectomy undergarments) and privately (for herself, her children, her nieces, and her grandchildren), still pursuing sewing projects until the last weeks of her life in spite of near blindness. She married Harold Andres on August 30, 1935. At her parents' request, the couple moved into the second floor of the family home in Elmhurst, where she would reside for another thirty years. There she created and decorated an apartment for her husband and three sons, with an ingenious compact kitchen, hand-decorated furniture, upholstery and drapery projects, and paintings. She often reminisced about managing during the depression years on a weekly household allowance of five dollars. She looked after her parents and uncle, decorating their home and orchestrating family gatherings for holidays, and tending to their illnesses. Ever the improver, she enlisted her family in the likes of laying cement for a trellised patio, marbleizing a floor with sponge painting, and braiding room-sized rugs of dyed blanket strips. She was active in community theater, PTA, bridge, garden, and book clubs, and church service groups (catering receptions and running crafts bazaars), and encouraged and supported her sons to excel in school, scouts, and music. Although neither she nor Hal graduated from college, they revered education. She had a charm bracelet of honorary keys and university crests displaying her pride in their sons' undergraduate -- Northwestern, Cornell, and Iowa State -- and graduate degrees -- Princeton (2) and Stanford. As their commitments at home diminished and their sons scattered, she and Hal began to travel - by car to the East Coast, Canada, and Texas; by motor home to California; by train to the Pacific Northwest; and then to Europe and Britain, where she was fascinated by the history. On Hal's retirement, they moved to Hot Springs, AR, where she volunteered as a reading tutor in local schools, served as a hospital aid, and delivered "Welcome Women" gift baskets from her orange Karman Ghia. Struggling with progressive loss of eyesight since her 40s, while Hal dealt with hearing loss (for which she began to learn signing), she moved with him into an assisted living apartment in Little Rock. After Hal's death in 1994, she relocated to the Wake Robin retirement community in Shelburne, VT, to be near a son and his family. There she created an apartment frequently featured on tours for prospective residents and became known for chunky novelty necklaces, many of which she made, and her love of bright colors. Joys were books on tape from the state library (among which she particularly savored historic fiction and biography), music CDs, drives in the Vermont countryside, and the interests and accomplishments of her immediate and extended family. She died quietly on November 22, 2009, with family around her. She was pre-deceased by her husband, her brothers Herbert and Paul Breuhaus, and her sister Edna Minnema. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law (Ronald and Jean Andres of Lafayette, IN; Glenn and Barbara Andres of Salisbury, VT; and Kent and Linda Andres of Fernandina Beach, FL); her beloved younger sister and lifelong best friend Hilda Wendland of Hot Springs Village, AR; grandchildren Douglas, Jennifer, Mark, Christopher, and Melissa Andres; and great-grandchildren Kristin, Ariana, Joshua, Benjamin, and Abigail Andres. She left her body to medical science. A summer memorial is being planned. Memorial gifts may be made to: The Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, (60 Kimball Ave., South Burlington, VT 05403); Heifer Project International, (1 World Ave., Little Rock, AR 72202); The Wake Robin Scholarship Fund, (1 Wake Robin Dr., Shelburne, VT 05482).