Audrey Ann Bardy

Born at the close of World War II to Albanian parents who came to the United States seeking a new beginning, Audrey enjoyed a happy childhood in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, surrounded by her loving parents, two older sisters, and a large extended family.

She met her future husband in high school, and they married after graduation, soon welcoming a daughter and a son. When her marriage ended several years later, Audrey faced the challenge of raising her two young children primarily on her own. These were formative years, marked by sacrifice and resilience, as she learned how capable she was in navigating the world as a busy single mom. She created a safe and nurturing home for her kids, while also devoting time to the care of her father, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and later, her ailing mother. These days were punctuated with the whirr of her sewing machine, weekly trips to the library, the radio sound of Ernie Harwell and the Detroit Tigers, and lots of family.

Audrey worked hard for a Master of Arts in Education and began teaching high school English—a career that synchronized perfectly with her children’s school schedules. Eventually, she earned a Master of Library Science, migrating from the classroom to the library as a media specialist. She always maintained that it was important to give back to society—to be of service—and Audrey's professional life as an educator and media specialist exemplified those core values. To this point, past students returned to visit her to let her know how much she positively influenced them.

Perhaps inspired by her mother’s industrious hands and love of crocheting, Audrey embraced the fiber arts and she filled the house with a loom or two, heaps of yarn, and sometimes a spinning wheel. She was a longtime member of the Eastside Handweavers Guild and later expanded her creativity into jewelry-making, beading, quilting, and knitting. And her artistic expression did not end there. If you were ever in her home, you would be enveloped by the warmth of an orange living room, or the drama of a purple dining room; rich and colorful backdrops to showcase prints and paintings made by her sister, paintings by her daughter, and sculptures by her son—and of course her own weavings.

Audrey eventually moved to a home up the same street in Grosse Pointe that featured a beautiful yard. She loved enhancing the gardens there, tending the earth and shaping its landscape. She became a Master Gardener, joined the Grosse Pointe Park Garden Club, and her efforts landed a Grosse Pointe Farms Beautification Award for her yard.

A curious and adventurous spirit, Audrey also traveled widely—to Canada, Mexico, China, Europe, Central America, and across the United States. She celebrated her 70th birthday with her daughter on a safari through Kenya and Tanzania, where she fell in love with the majestic and playful elephants.

In her later years, Audrey moved to Columbus, Ohio, bringing both herself and her sister—whom she cared for—closer to family. They settled into a senior community where Audrey lived in Independent Living while continuing to look after her sister in Memory Care. There, she formed deep new friendships and a cherished sense of connection, finding the perfect place to live out the rest of her life. And, of course, she painted her living room yellow.

Audrey possessed a joyful laugh and was kind, loving, and dependable. She always showed up—for her children's endless baseball and basketball games, for her parents when they needed care, for her sister when her health began to fail, for her family, and for her friends. For birthdays, holidays, or just a regular day. Audrey would be there. She would celebrate your successes, your new pet, your graduation, your wedding, your career, and your passions. And most of all, she found a way to celebrate you, even if you were at a loss as how to do so yourself.

Now it's time to celebrate Audrey.

A service in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, will be held at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House on May 30, 12-3pm.

She is survived by her older sister, her daughter and son, her nephew and his family, great-nieces and nephews, and cousins in Boston, Italy, and Albania.

If you would like to honor Audrey's memory, please consider supporting the elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.