Andrea Lynne Houston

Born on July 12,1950 in San Bernardino, California she was the beloved child of Fred and Ruby Barnett. The family, including older brother Drew, lived in Fontana, California near the Kaiser Steel Mill. Andrea fondly recalled her childhood, often regaling friends and family with stories of the hijinks she and her brother got up to with the neighborhood kids on Athol Street.

She graduated from Fontana High School in 1968, and earned an associates degree in liberal arts from Chaffey College. She then attended Cal State, Fullerton but left prematurely to help her mother and father financially.

In December 1973, while working in the cash office of Montgomery Wards, also known as Monkey Wards to her sons growing up, she met Mark Houston one magical night, lost in each other while dancing to rock and roll. After a four year courtship, the two married on April 8, 1978 and moved to San Bernardino. Three sons followed over the next four years.

Her career in accounting also began in 1978, while working at Norton Air Force Base. When the base began its closure in the early 1990s, the family moved to Colorado Springs where she continued her career at Fort Carson. Another move took the family to Longmont, and Andrea made the long commute to Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver. She finished her career at the Federal Aviation Administration in Longmont, retiring in 2015 two weeks after her 65th birthday.

During her leisure time, Andrea loved gardening, growing a variety of roses, fruit trees, vegetables, and other beautiful flowering bushes. She loved reading, films from the Golden Age of cinema, and the family’s dogs. Her passions also involved collecting eclectic fabric designs and tools to fill her sewing room where she honed her seamstress skills. After her retirement, she joined friends in a Red Hat Society group, enjoying many outings around northern Colorado.

Additionally, Andrea enjoyed traveling with Mark, going on a 40th anniversary cruise to the Caribbean in 2003, several trips to visit family in California and Washington, visiting New England and Montreal for fall foliage, and two trips with family to the UK in 2019 and 2022.

Andrea led a full and happy life, bringing her spirit of kindness, generosity and abundant love to everyone she met. Her loss will be felt deeply by her friends and family.

She is survived by her husband Mark, sons Ben (Raenie), Graham, and Sam, grandchildren Roselynne and Abram, and brother Drew. She is preceded in death by her parents Fred and Ruby.

A memorial service will be held at Allnutt Funeral Home in Fort Collins on June 13, beginning with an optional viewing at 10:00am, followed by an official service at 11:00am and a lunch reception at 12:00pm. Andrea will be laid to rest in a small family ceremony at Fort Logan National Cemetery on June 15 at 1:30pm.