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As received from the Pearce Funeral Home:
Little Traverse Bay: On November 14, 2022, Andrea Alice Abbate died in Houghton, Michigan, at the age of 83, succumbing to polycystic kidney disease which she had battled for decades.
She is survived by her four children, Mary Murphy of Houston, Texas; David Murphy of Auckland, New Zealand; Barbara Walls (David) of Pine, Arizona; and Jim Murphy (Gloria) of Riverside, her grandchildren, Ryan Wirtz, Emmett Wirtz, Madison Murphy, Tyler Murphy and Evangeline Murphy, and her sister, Cecelia Stewart Gast (James) of Sherwood, Arkansas.
She was preceded in death by her parents: Andrew Swiatlowski and Rose (Brodeur) Stewart, her stepfather Allen Stewart, her brother Lt. (j.g.) Peter Stewart and her former husbands Emmett Murphy and Robert Herschler.
She was born on September 2, 1939, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She earned her BA and MA from the University of California, Riverside. She worked as a teacher at Queen of Angels Catholic School and both teacher and principal at Orrenmaa Elementary School in Riverside, CA. She retired to Lake Linden, Michigan.
She was a woman of many talents—a prolific and skilled painter, a gardener with a love of flowers and nature, a Words With Friends and Scrabble expert, a ballroom dancer, an experienced traveler, a wonderful cook, an avid reader, and a fierce debater. She adored her dachshunds and always had one to spoil. She will be remembered for her passion and creativity.
At Andrea’s request, no funeral or memorial service will be held. The Pearce Funeral Home in Lake Linden is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at pearcefuneralhome.com
