Andrea was born to Antoinette & Andrew Renda on October 21, 1953, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After graduating from Battin High School in June 1971, she attended Rutgers-Newark College of Arts & Sciences in Newark, NJ before joining the United States Navy.
She entered Naval service April 1973 and completed boot camp in Orlando Florida. Upon completion of corpsman school in the Great Lakes, Andrea was assigned to NAS Jacksonville’s Hospital staff in Jacksonville, Florida. She was the first woman to be assigned to NAS Cecil Field dispensary staff.
Andrea was a Vietnam Veteran specializing in the corpsman trade. She was honorably discharged in April 1977 after four years of Naval Service.
She attended Florida Junior College at Jacksonville, graduating in 1979 with an Associate of Science degree in Nursing. Andrea started her nursing career at Hope Haven Children’s Hospital in 1979. She later worked as a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurse at Baptist Hospital until March 2001 when she then became a Pediatric Emergency Room Nurse. Andrea retired from nursing in November 2009.
Andrea was a certified Girl Scout Leader at the Girl Scout’s U.S.A. Gateway Council in Jacksonville, Florida. From 1990 to 1994, Andrea led Troop 177 to amazing accomplishments.
Andrea loved to cook and bake. She mastered any recipe to create amazing meals for family and friends. Her baking skills rose to the level of winning the Florida Times Union Newspaper Baking Competition.
Andrea is survived by her loving husband of 50 years, Robert, as well as her daughters Melanie (boyfriend Jason Watts) Reading and Danielle (boyfriend Nick Edwards) Dean; and grandchildren Brandon Brown, Lily Watts, Tomi, Jojo, Vera, Aubrey, Jubilee and Johnny. Andrea is also survived by her sister-in-law Nancy Reading and brother-in-law Michael (husband Pete Schuppenhauer) Reading.
A Memorial Service will be held for Andrea at Hardage-Giddens, Riverside Memorial Park & Funeral Home located at 7242 Normandy Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32205 on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 3:00-4:00pm. Following the service, family and friends will gather at the Golden Corral Buffet and Grill located at 1201 Memorial Park Road, Jacksonville, FL 32205.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that remembrances be made in the form of a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
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