Veronica Louise Andrews

Veronica L. Andrews, 94, passed away on January 26, 2024. A native of Lilly, PA, she had resided in the Jacksonville/St. Johns area since 1962. Veronica was the last surviving sibling of eleven, having been predeceased by eight brothers and two sisters. As a teenager, Veronica married her soulmate and next door neighbor Cyril (Cy) in 1946 and a son and two daughters followed in quick succession. Having had enough of the cold weather and shoveling snow, Cy moved the family to the warm South for a better climate and more opportunities for his family. After moving to Florida in 1962, another daughter and son were born into the family and the three oldest, being teenagers by then, were delighted to welcome 2 new siblings to the family. These five children amounted to a houseful and Veronica found her greatest joy and pleasure in being a homemaker for her family and nothing pleased her more than cooking our favorite Polish meals and sharing her recipes with us. She loved helping out with anything involved with cooking especially during the holidays when we couldn’t do without one of her special dishes. She was an accomplished seamstress and made her daughters and granddaughters dresses, play clothes, costumes, and throw in drapes and an occasional quilt. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great great grandchild, always interested in knowing the latest in their lives and cheering them on in their accomplishments. Veronica was the classic people person and never met a stranger. She could strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, about anything and treat them as a lifelong friend after that brief encounter. Every morning Mom could be found at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and then tackling the crossword puzzle with a vengeance, a habit she continued well into her 90’s. She loved that challenge and always wanted to keep up with the latest news.

Due to health reasons Veronica spent the last year of her life at Life Care in Orange Park. She made a lot of new friends there and enjoyed participating in the activities, particularly her three weekly Bingo games. Again she treated everyone as a longtime friend and knew their life story after just a brief conversation. To know Veronica was to love her and her loss has left a huge void in our lives but we have too many treasured memories to forget the impact she had on those she met along life’s path.

Veronica was predeceased by her husband of 58 years Cyril (Cy) in 2005 and oldest son William (Bill) in 2001. Survived by daughters Louise Wiard, Fleming Island, Susan Johnston and Amy (Trent) Intorcia of Jacksonville and son James (Jim), St. Johns. Grandchildren Jennifer, Liz, Andy, Bekki, Ryan, Joey, Brian and Sami; great-grandchildren Anna, Jacob, Parker, Evan, William, Luke, Laird, Riley and Emery and great-great granddaughter Alana. Sister-in-law and best friend Joan Andrews, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 11801 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville 32223 on Thursday 2/1 from 6-8 PM. A longtime member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church since 1964, a celebration mass of her life will be held on Friday 2/2 at 1:30 PM at the St. Joseph’s Historical Church, 4214 Loretto Rd., Jacksonville, followed by burial in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please donate in Veronica's name to St. Joseph Catholic School www.bidpal.net/stjosephcs along with an email to [email protected] to include her name.