Andrea M. Boehm

Andrea Mary Boehm, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away in Naperville, Illinois on September, 4th 2026 at the age of 84. To summarize the life Andrea lived in a limited number of words is an impossible task.

Andrea Mary Dunn entered the world, kicking and screaming, on November, 3 1941 at St. Anne’s Hospital in Chicago, where her mother Marcella Gerleve Dunn attended nursing school. At the time, her father Andrew C. Dunn worked for the Catholic Cemeteries as a civil engineer, designing and building the roads in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL where Andrea will be laid to rest on Friday, September 18, 2026.

Her father Andrew brought mother and child home from St. Anne’s to Hillside, where they lived next door to her maternal grandparents Frank & Helen Gerleve. As the family grew with the addition of brothers Andy, Joe, and Bill, the family moved to N. Delaplaine Road in Riverside, IL in the late summer of 1950. Andrea (and her three younger brothers) attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Riverside, and as a teenager, Andrea attended Nazareth Academy, an all-girls high school at the time, in LaGrange Park.

Immediately after graduating from Nazareth Academy in 1959, Andrea began nursing school at Oak Park Hospital, not too far from her childhood home. Upon graduating first in her class, she accepted a nursing position at the same hospital and got to work doing what she loved most: taking care of people in need. Her job, however, was short-lived, for love had other plans.

On August 24, 1963, Andrea Mary Dunn wed Robert (Bob) Boehm at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside. The couple began their family in Riverside, welcoming son Rick in September of 1964, Kevin in December of 1966, and Scott in October of 1967.

In 1968, apartment living was not working too well for a family of five, so Andrea and Bob began to search for a home with room to grow. Their search found them in Lisle, in the western suburbs of Chicago, where they purchased their first (and only!) home on Jonquil Avenue.

While Bob worked as a civil engineer, Andrea dedicated her time and energy into raising the boys. Being a stay-at-home mom was difficult, but the neighborhood was full of other young, supportive moms and dozens of kids. Just when Andrea was getting the hang of being a mom and managing the household, another child arrived: son Brian was born in May of 1970.

Once Andrea and Bob became parishioners at St. Joan of Arc in Lisle, their group of friends grew to include the parents of many of the kids’ friends from school. Those new friends from SJA became Andrea and Bob’s closest friends and remained so throughout their lives. It was, also, during this time that they became involved with Chicago Marriage Encounter, and many of their life-long friends became involved, too.

When Andrea made the decision to return to the workforce, she accepted a nursing position at Hinsdale Hospital, where she made many new friends. Working at Hinsdale Hospital for 10 years was physically difficult for Andrea; the job likely contributed to many of her mobility issues in the latter years of her life. Eventually, Andrea accepted a position across the street at the Hinsdale Hospital Family Medical Center, where she worked an additional 10 years.

After putting the four boys through college, Andrea began to look ahead to retirement. When she thought about the things she enjoyed most in life, like fresh air, flowers, oak trees, water, and even golf, she knew the pull to Michigan was too strong to ignore. In the fall of 1991, Andrea and Bob became weekenders on Hilltop Ridge in Canadian Lakes, Michigan, building close friendships with the surrounding neighbors and the Amish community nearby.

With their careers in the rearview mirror in 1999, Andrea and Bob began to live two seasons of life: they summered on Hilltop Ridge and wintered at the family home on Jonquil.

Living at the lake allowed Andrea to spend her days doing the things that she loved most in life: cooking elaborate meals, working in the yard, hosting family and friends, sleeping on the screened-in porch, feeding the orioles, and waking up to a sunrise. Living in Lisle, allowed her to attend events at the grandchildren’s schools, to host family dinners on the weekends, and to see her close friends. For 25 years, Andrea had the best of both worlds.

Retirement also allowed Andrea to start her own chapter of the Red Hat Society, and she was, of course, the president. She organized outings and weekend get-a-ways, hosted pot lucks and Bunco tournaments, and welcomed all the ladies to the Jonquil house in the weeks prior to the holidays. Andrea pulled out all the stops to decorate the house for Christmas.

Andrea loved weddings, but she loved babies even more, so as her grandchildren married and began their own families, Andrea was delighted.

Her final years were not easy, and as Andrea slowly lost her mobility, it became increasingly obvious that leaving Hilltop Ridge was inevitable, but leaving the Lisle house was incomprehensible.

Andrea always said that she would leave this Earth kicking and screaming, and in her own way, on her own terms, that’s exactly what she did.

Andrea is survived by her husband, Robert of 63 years; her sons Richard (Jill), Kevin (Kathy), Scott (Renee) and Brian (Jennifer); granddaughters Rachel, Samantha, Kaitlin, Taylor, Madeline, and Brooke; grandsons Nick and Aidan; great-granddaughters Aria, Autumn, Brynn, and Isla; brothers Joe (Cindy) and Bill (Jan); and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Marcella and Andrew Dunn, and her brother Andy.

A Visitation for Andrea will take place Thursday, September 17, 2026 from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 5015 Lincoln Ave. Lisle, IL 60532. Funeral to follow Friday, September 18, 2026 with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10:00 AM at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 820 Division St, Lisle, IL 60532. Interment to follow at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery, 1400 S. Wolf Rd. Hillside, IL 60162.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Sharing Connections, a charity Andrea was involved with since its inception: (www.sharingconnections.org and select the "Donations" button in the upper right corner). Thank you.