Jeannine A. Andrus

Jeannine A. Andrus (Draper), of Binghamton NY, passed away after an extended illness on August 27, 2023. She was born on April 1st, 1937 in Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre PA to Laurence and Madeline Draper. She was predeceased by her parents, beloved husband R. David and infant grandson Brian Andrus. She is survived by her sister Suzanne Bahr, daughter Carol (Michael) Church and son Steven (Mercedes) Andrus. She was blessed to have four grandchildren, Nicole (Matthew) Miller, Derek Church, Melissa (Shane) Baron, Kimberly Andrus, two step-grandchildren, Ashley and Nate Corey and one great granddaughter, Kendall Miller, all who will greatly miss her. She loved them all very much.

Jeannine grew up in Bath and eventually moved to Elmira, NY. She graduated from Elmira College with her degree in Elementary Education in 1959 and was extremely proud to buy her first car, a Pontiac Star Chief convertible and obtain a job at Chenango Forks School District the same year. Starting her career brought immense joy, in that she met her future husband on the first day of school. After dating for 6 months, they married the following summer on August 6th, 1960. She and David shared 60 happy years together until his passing in December of 2020. They loved to travel and took many trips to 49 of the 50 states, even sharing some of those with their children and grandchildren.

Jeannine accomplished many things in her lifetime, the greatest of which was her long career as an elementary teacher, in both kindergarten and first grade. She was always so proud of her students and even remembered many of them by name throughout her life. She dedicated her spare time to collecting various items. She truly enjoyed the hunt of finding the next “hot item”, whether it was a Cabbage Patch doll, Beanie Baby toy, or her Dept. 56 villages. She had a certain twinkle in her eye when she caught the “prize”. She was very involved in the Kattelville Seniors Association up until her passing, taking on many roles including president, of which she was very proud. She was especially proud to pass on her ability to cook a good meal and to bake and decorate Christmas cutout cookies. A tradition that will be proudly carried on in her honor. She will be missed greatly by those whose heart she touched with her gentle kindness and generosity. Forever in our hearts—we love you.

The family would like to send special thanks to the aides, nurses and doctors with the palliative care team on Krembs 6 at Binghamton General Hospital, who exhibited the most kind and gentle care to our mother during her hardest days. We were glad that they were there to support us all.

The Family will receive friends at the Wm. R. Chase & Son Funeral Home, 737 Chenango Street, Port Dickinson, NY on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 from 10-11am with a Funeral Service to follow at 11am. Burial will be in the Chenango Valley Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, you may choose to donate to Ogden Hillcrest United Methodist Church in Binghamton, NY where Jeannine was a long-time member or to the charity of your choice in her honor.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.WmRChase.com for the Andrus family.