Irene S. (Emerton) Andrews, 80, passed away Saturday, July 3, 2021 at Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. Born in Beverly and raised in Manchester, she was the daughter of the late Oliver and Edna (Peters) Emerton. She was the beloved wife of the late Thomas Charles Andrews.
“Sandy” was educated in Manchester and is a proud member of the Story High School Class of 1959. She later became a bus driver for the Town of Manchester an absolute labor of love for thirty-four years. Decades of Manchester children have wonderful memories of Mrs. Andrews’s Bus #5 shuttling them to school, sporting events and playground activities. One of Sandy’s favorite traditions was presenting former students with a toy yellow school bus when they became parents.
Sandy’s greatest treasure was her six grandchildren. She had a knack for making every birthday and holiday extra special and the more time spent with family the better. Sandy loved Halloween which happened to be her and Tom’s wedding anniversary. They spent each year decorating their Pleasant Street home, dressing up in unique outfits and distributing lots of treats to the children and “swizzles” to adults.
Sandy enjoyed spending time with and corresponding with her large circle of friends. Her friends enjoyed receiving birthday cards, hand-written letters, jokes, poems and thank you cards via mail from Sandy. A master joke teller, Sandy was famous for starting a phone call with “did I tell you the one” followed by one of her favorite jokes.
Sandy’s family will forever remember her knack of making family Christmas celebrations special. Planning Christmas for Sandy was a year-round endeavor. Her family looked forward to receiving their “special envelope” on Christmas day and the crazy hats and funny photos she insisted be part of the big day.
Sandy & Tom enjoyed sixty-one years of marriage and shared a love for traveling. They particularly enjoyed their cruise to Alaska, packing the “little Oscar” and heading for the Maine Coast and their countless day trips around the North Shore. Traveling together brought them great joy.
Irene is survived by one son Thomas C. Andrews and his wife Ann of Manchester; one daughter Deborah Hersey and her husband David of Manchester; six grandchildren Kimberly Lovell and her husband Cameron, Jennifer Hersey, Steven Adams, Christopher Adams, Lauren McColgan, and Isabelle Andrews. She was predeceased by three sisters Pauline Sawyer, Doris La Flam, and Marion Burgess.
Her funeral service will be held at First Parish Church, 10 Central St, Manchester-by-the-Sea, 11 a.m. Thursday, July 8. Burial to follow in Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Manchester-by-the-Sea. In lieu of flowers donation in her name can be made to Cape Ann Animal Aid 4 Paws Lane, Gloucester, MA 01930 or Kaplan Family Hospice House 78 Liberty Street, Danvers, MA 01923.
