Evelyn Catherine Andru

It is with grief and sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend, Evelyn Andru (nee Frame) on Monday, November 27, 2023 at the age of 90 years.

Evelyn was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in 1933 to Franklin and Mary Ann (May) Frame (nee McSweeney). She moved to Edmonton, Alberta with her parents as a young child of 2 or 3, and siblings Douglas, Sharon, and Chester were born. The Frame family moved to Vancouver in the later 1940s.

Evelyn was 16 in 1950 when she lost her father. She graduated from Kitsilano High in 1951, and from UBC Normal School in 1953. Evelyn taught First Grade, and taught and travelled with her lifetime friend Sheila Bowyer-Smyth (nee Stratton) in the UK, Europe and South Africa. She also visited Hawaii and California in her travels in the 1950s.

Evelyn met Peter Andru in Vancouver, BC, and married on July 22, 1961. They built a family while moving across Canada. Six sons followed – Peter in Vancouver, James and Stephen in Edmonton, and David, Robert, and Gordon in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Evelyn and family relocated to Burnaby, BC in 1970, where she lived in her family home on Carson Street for 53 years. Evelyn moved to Suncrest Retirement Community in South Surrey/ White Rock in December 2022, and resided there until her passing.

Evelyn was the heart of her family, and her warm and caring soul welcomed all friends into that family. She always practiced putting the needs of her loved ones above her own. After marriage, Evelyn raised her family and dedicated over thirty years’ volunteering for the City of Burnaby. After the boys had grown, Evelyn was devoted to her beloved husband Peter, and enjoyed travels with him in Canada, including to the Maritimes and Yukon.

Evelyn actively practiced her Catholic faith and was a long-time parishioner of St. Francis de Sales, Burnaby. Her faith remained important to her throughout her life and was evident to others in how she guided her own life and that of her children. Evelyn loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and enjoyed participating in family weddings and births, vacations at home and at summer cottages, and holidays and get-together feasts. She made a difference in each of their lives in both small and large ways.

She enjoyed watching sports and following the BC Lions and Vancouver Canucks. She was a keen reader and library patron, and followed the news and current affairs avidly. Evelyn’s hobby for many years was entering contests, and she won many prizes for her family, including the family’s first colour TV, and trips to Europe, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Evelyn is survived by her six sons Peter John (Leona), James, Stephen, David (Wendy), Robert (Cynthia), and Gordon (Junko); twelve grandchildren Daniel, Catherine, Madeline, Jonathan, Erin, Seth, Hillary, Lauren, Sophia, Matthew, Lily, and Lyla; two great-grandchildren Ayla and Matteo; six nephews John, Shannon, Daniel, Philip, Kenneth, and Jamie; and extended family relations and friends.

Evelyn was predeceased by her parents Frank and May Frame, parents-in-law John and Mary Andru, husband Peter Andru, friend Sheila Bowyer-Smyth, siblings Douglas Frame, Sharon Heinrich (nee Frame), and Chester Frame, brother-in-law John Andru, daughter-in-law Kerry Miller, and nephews Lawrence Frame and Cameron Frame.

Friends will be received at a Visitation on Monday, December 4 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm and Funeral Service on Tuesday December 5 at 1pm (Reception at 3:30pm to 5:30pm) at Forest Lawn Funeral Chapel, 3789 Royal Oak Avenue, Burnaby.