Andrea Dean

Andrea Emily Dean was born on December 14, 1940 to Eleanor and William Dean in South Bend, Indiana. She had two older brothers, Edwin and William, and would later have a younger sister, Barbara.

Andrea attended public school in South Bend and was generally a good student. She was interested in literature and theatre. At the age of 13, Andrea played the title role in a local production of Rumpelstiltskin. She often talked about how much fun she had. She developed close friends in childhood, one of them being Sue Welber. Andrea and Sue maintained contacted throughout most of her adult life. She was always drawn toward adventure and dramatics. She often liked to shock people with bold statements or stunts.

One of Andrea’s favorite memories from her childhood was staying with her aunt in Georgia and “eating fried chicken every day, the best fried chicken I’d ever had.” She said that her aunt could kill a chicken and have it on the table in less than an hour. Andrea lived in homes with chicken farms later in life as well, and despised the way chickens would be so cruel to one another, particularly their attacking and killing an injured chicken. Another memory she mentioned a few times was working one summer at a diner and being so tired of the smell of food that she “lived on cigarettes and almost nothing to eat” over that summer.

Andrea went to Earlham College as an undergrad and majored in English. It was there she met Emily Finlay, and the two became best friends. Emily described Andrea as brave, fresh, vital and defiant. She later introduced Emily to her brother Edwin. As a result, Edwin and Emily started dating and were married some years later. During a summer off of Earlam, Andrea worked as a nurse’s aid in New York City on a ship called The Floating Hospital that gives medical care to poor children. . There she met and began dating a man named Lou Marsh, a young African American urban activist. Andrea said that they were very much in love. They had a rendezvous in Cleveland at one point. Her parents gently disapproved because of Lou’s race, and they broke things off. Lou Marsh was later killed in New York City trying to break up a gang fight. His life and death are immortalized in a Phil Ochs song.

Andrea attended Indiana University at Bloomington for graduate school, also in English. During that time she met Henry Morgenstein, and the two began dating. Andrea converted to Judaism to marry Henry (although she never strongly believed the tenets of either Christianity or Judaism). They were married in the large back yard of Eleanor and William’s house in South Bend.

Andrea and Henry both earned their Master’s degrees and moved to Chicago where Henry worked on his PhD and Andrea taught college courses part time at the City Colleges of Chicago. These were good times for the couple. Henry liked to make fried salami, mozzarella and onion sandwiches as a version of their favorite take out food, and both enjoyed them.

Henry did not finish his dissertation, and the couple moved to New York City and continued to teach part time at City College of New York. Their son Benjy—whom Andrea named after two Faulkner characters, a mentally challenged narrator and a bear—was born during this time. After applying to colleges all over the country, Henry was able to get a teaching position in Traverse City, Michigan at Northwestern Michigan College. All they could find about the city was that it was “The Cherry Capital of the World.” Andrea and Henry moved Traverse City in 1970 to a house on Washington Street. Shortly after moving to Traverse City, the couple’s second son, Ethan, was born.

During this period, Andrea started drinking heavily and experiencing many delusions and drastic mood swings. This was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder. During this time, Andrea and Henry were separated and later divorced. Andrea and Henry bought separate, smaller houses, Henry’s on Tenth Street and Andrea’s on Elmwood. Andrea got custody of both children. Due to her mental illness and struggles with alcoholism, Andrea eventually lost custody of Ben and Ethan.

Andrea got an additional custody hearing, and her lawyer told her that he could guarantee her custody if she found a job. Unable to find one in Traverse City, she sold her house and got a job and new home in Evansville, Indiana near her aunt Virginia. Andrea lost custody due to her erratic behavior. She was devastated by the decision, and within a few months left her house in Evansville to return to Michigan to be closer to her boys

Over the next seven years, Andrea spent time living on her own in small apartments, the State Psychiatric Hospital in Traverse City, and the county jail. She made all efforts to maintain contact with her sons, though this proved to be difficult at times. She also spent many days hitchhiking and traveling. On one adventure, she hitchhiked to Tempe, Arizona and spent a number of months in that area.

In the about 1980, Andrea returned to Michigan and was able to live on a small farm in Suttons Bay with a man named Albert Chippewa. She enjoyed this time, and it provided her safety and stability. One evening, she had an extended seizure and her friend Albert called an ambulance and saved her life. During her hospitalization, she stopped drinking and was officially diagnosed with manic depression. She started seeing a therapist and was able to be stabilized through medication. She then moved into a small apartment in Traverse City in the early 1980s.

She began regularly seeing her children more frequently at their father’s home on Tenth Street. After Andrea become more a frequent guest and was more involved as a mother, Henry moved to a house he owned two doors down. He allowed Andrea to live in the original house and have primary care for her children, who were eleven and fourteen.

Andrea enjoyed being back with her children and greatly decreased her alcohol consumption for many years. She liked watching music videos with Benjy and cooking meals for her family. She was occasionally sad that her sons had become older and more independent without her, but still loved being back with them.

Some of her favorite memories were a few weeklong summer trips to the boundary waters between Minnesota and Canada. Andrea and her sons would canoe and camp throughout the area with large backpacks. There were no man-made structures in sight. They would occasionally get lost—navigating the islands was sometimes difficult—but always got back on track. Andrea’s favorite place there was “sandy beach,” a beautiful beach with nearby cliffs and hordes of mosquitoes once the sun set.

Andrea taught part-time at Northwestern Michigan college during this period and enjoyed it. She struggled with work for many years. She had jobs in printing, home health care, gardening, and tutoring foreign students. She always enjoyed talking with her clients, students, and customers. Her ability to talk with strangers and engage people in many topics was a gift. In the late 2000s, Andrea began working at the Women’s Resource Center Thrift Shop in Traverse City. She was paid for the work through Area Agency for Aging. She was active in the local Sierra Club and led many hikes around Northern Michigan.

The family had a dog, Sophie, during this period, whom Andrea truly loved. Sophie would accompany the family on canoe trips and never left Andrea’s side. Sophie later passed away in the mid 2000s, and Andrea got a new dog, Lacey, within a week. Lacey became a loyal companion but initially had a bit more energy than Andrea expected.

Andrea remained close with her sons after they left home. She and her sons took a family trip to Costa Rica in 1999 which included time spent in San Jose and Arenal (near an active volcano) as well as white water rafting. Ethan returned with his wife many years later.

Andrea also had numerous friends. Her most loyal friend was Mary Franklin, and she went on regular walks with her friend Neila Hart. She also valued her friendship with Tanya Timoninata, a former student of hers.

Andrea traveled to China by herself in the mid 2000s and visited the Great Wall.

She attended the wedding of her son Ben to Sarah Whittaker in 2002 and her son Ethan to Maura Wall in 2008. She greatly enjoyed both occasions. She also very much enjoyed spending time with Sarah and Ben’s son Jonathan as well as Ethan and Maura’s children, Otis and Murphy.

Andrea faced a number of physical challenges in the final years of her life. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012 and had to have part of one lung removed. This necessitated her quitting smoking and cutting back on walking, two of her favorite activities. In late 2014 Andrea started having muscle tremors, balance problems and short-term memory loss. She was quite unhappy with these although she tried to remain in good spirits. Andrea enjoyed a close community in her later years. She had wonderful neighbors, Andy, Marge, Bernie and Jalene. She considered them to be friends, and they did a great deal to support her.

Andrea was often known for her honesty and forthrightness. She spoke her mind and was always able to share her thoughts and feelings with people in her life. While she could come across as surprising or even abrasive at times, many people said that it was one of her most admirable qualities and that “You always knew where you stood with Andrea.” She was an avid reader and had a very sharp intellect. Though her sense of humor was at times quirky and strange, it was delightful in it’s own way. Andrea could strike up a conversation with almost anyone and enjoyed the spark of connection with people.

She spent her last night, December 26th, 2014, with all of her children and grandchildren in Kalamazoo.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2015 - 11:00 AM at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse, 6726 Center Road; Traverse City, MI 49686.

Please use the link below to listen to Andrea’s interview through the StoryCorps project. Copy and paste into your web browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kHs5L0qa2g