Obituary of Barbara J. Andrews

Barbara Jean Andrews, 86, of Iowa City, Iowa, passed away peacefully at Briarwood Health Care Center on April 8, 2020. Barbara was born in Sandstone, Minnesota, on February 5, 1934, to Edmund and Mary Waller. The Waller family later moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where Barbara graduated from City High in 1952. After high school Barbara worked at Ewers Men’s Store and attended the University of Iowa, where she got reacquainted with a City High school classmate, James Andrews, who became her sweetheart, and in 1957, her husband. The couple lived in Alexandria, Virginia, and then the Twin Cities, finally settling in Iowa City, where Barbara and James raised three children, Elisabeth, Rebecca, and Robert. A loving and creative woman with a wry sense of humor, Barbara could find something funny even in the most difficult or challenging circumstances. She loved beauty in the world and in life. Whether expressing herself by creating visual beauty with her hands and heart through gardening, interior decorating, sewing, hosting family events at home, or by sharing her perspective when her children started their own families, Barbara always brought her sense of humor and proportion, as well as her giving nature and gentle, loving spirit to what she did. She taught by example how to be kind and to forgive, how to accept the many inevitable turns and challenges of life with grace, and how to leave the world a more beautiful place than it was when you found it. Barbara is survived by her husband James of Iowa City, her daughter Lisa (Mark) Strommer of Iowa City, her daughter Rebecca Andrews of Olney, Maryland, and her son Robert (Jill) Andrews of Louisville, Colorado, grandchildren Taylor and Clark Andrews, Nina Linkletter, and Shelby, Stacey, and Richard Strommer, brother Charles (Janet) Waller of Ankeny, Iowa, sister JoAnn Petsel of Sigourney, Iowa, and brother Gary (Barbara) Waller of Ankeny, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents, younger sister Shirley Waller, and older brother Donald Waller. In lieu of memorial donations, we know that Barbara would have asked for more kindness in this world, and as this seems a very relevant time for such a wish, we ask that people donate a act of kindness and consideration to another person in honor of Barbara. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the loving and caring people at Briarwood Health Care Center and Prairie Rose Care Management, who helped care for Barbara over the past ten years and treated her and her family as they would their own families. Words cannot express the appreciation that we, Barbara’s family members, have for each one of you who cared for Barbara with such dedication and love. This is a very important time to express how much comfort and peace of mind your care brought to Barbara and to us, her family. Thank you and bless you. A memorial service will be determined and held at a later date. Interment will follow at Oakland Cemetery. To share a thought, memory or condolence with her family please visit the funeral home website @ www.gayandciha.com. Gay and Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service are handling funeral arrangements.