Andrea Loucks

Someone once said that having somewhere to go is home, having someone to love is family, and that having both is a blessing. For Andrea Loucks, family was by far her greatest joy. With unending love, limitless dedication, and immeasurable devotion, Andrea was a loving, yet outspoken and strong willed example of fortitude and strength. With her outgoing and fun-filled ways, Andrea was a friend to everyone she came in contact with and she loved bringing a smile to the days of others. Although deeply missed, Andrea leaves a lasting legacy to those she touched with ways all her own.

Born in the Mohave Desert city of Twentynine Palms in Southern California on November 1, 1973, Andrea was the younger of two children born to her parents, Dirk and Virginia "Ginny" (Caswell) Verwey. She grew up alongside her older brother, Bruce with whom she immensely enjoyed and together shared a close bond at a time when the culture of America was swiftly changing. From wide-bell bottoms to wide lapels and wide ties, hair grew longer, and skirts were worn shorter. News of the day included the end of the Vietnam War, and while New York’s World Trade Center became the tallest building in the world, the newly constructed Sears Tower in Chicago was a close second.

Despite these changing times, Andrea enjoyed a childhood so typical of her generation. With her father in the U.S. Marines, they traveled frequently. At the age of four, Andrea and Ginny moved to Arizona before making the area of Vicksburg, Michigan their permanent home. As kids, Andrea and her brother had farm animals they lovingly tended to. Always together, they fed their horse, and fed tomatoes to their pig, Pork Chop. Working multiple jobs at the same time, Andrea’s mother made a good home for their family. And although Andrea dearly loved her whole family, she was especially close to and loved her mother greatly.

Fun-loving and a friend of many, Andrea attended Vicksburg High School where she excelled in her studies. She was able to graduate early, and often helped her brother with his English classes. After graduating from Vicksburg High School in 1991, Andrea went on to take several college classes at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She landed a job working at a local collection agency, yet when she began working at Summit Polymers in 2008 Andrea’s life took an exciting new direction.

Andrea met the love of her life, Josh Loucks while working at Summit and from the moment they met, she knew she loved him. Their first date together was a bonfire in the company of family and friends. They continued to date and one of Andrea’s most memorable times of their shared alone time included a trip to the Detroit area of Royal Oak. It was during the Dream Cruise festivities, and nonetheless it was difficult to find a hotel so they settled for a less than perfect, small motel. Even so, they made the most of it, and Andrea looked absolutely stunning as they enjoyed a romantic dinner at Memphis Smoke. After dating for nearly a year and deeply in love, Andrea and Josh were happily married at the Kalamazoo County Courthouse on November 13, 2009. They celebrated the day by going to Game Stop so Josh could pick-up one of his games and then went out for pizza!

Josh and Andrea, along with his son, Jeffrey, set-up house in Kalamazoo. Thinking she could never become pregnant, they were eventually elated to welcome their miracle baby, Jennifer. In addition, Andrea loved her cat, Twiggy, and two Chihuahuas, Amigo and Dessa, but Dessa was always her favorite. Andrea loved cooking and baking for her family. She was known for her cookies and fudge, and she really liked watching the cooking shows on TV. She was always experimenting with new dishes, and her family was more than happy to sample and test her goodies. Yet, if they made a negative comment about her cooking, she made it a point to spike their food with habanero peppers and quite often threatened them with chocolate Exlax! Andrea was quite particular about her home and it all had to be clean, but the exception of course, was her car.

Andrea loved her family more than anything. She spent a great amount of time preparing them for school as education was extremely important to her. She was so proud when Jeffrey made the honor roll at school. To relax, Andrea enjoyed scrapbooking and coloring Mandalas, especially with her favorite color, pink. She liked to go fishing, and even got Jeffrey to go with her a time or two. One of Andrea’s favorite places to go for dinner was Red Lobster where she was sure to order the Steak and Lobster. Like a little kid, Andrea always looked forward to the holidays. She loved their family Christmas parties, family reunions and particularly the kid’s birthday parties when she went all out to make their day extra special.

Never one afraid of getting her hands dirty, Andrea worked hard at everything she did. She could be a tomboy just as easily as she could transform herself into a beautiful woman complete with all the frills of a girly girl. It was no wonder that Wonder Woman was Andrea’s hero. She made the best of every situation, could be outspoken when she truly believed in something, and she had a strong-will to boot! With her friendly disposition and outgoing nature, Andrea was a friend of many and a stranger to none. It was a joy to share her company, and it made her heart glad to share a smile with everyone, even those she did not know. More than anything, Andrea’s family was her world. Gone much too soon, it will be difficult in the days ahead to be without Andrea, yet her love will forever remain in the hearts of all who came to love and know her.

Andrea Loucks, age 43, of Kalamazoo passed away on January 21, 2017 in the comfort of her home. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 2:00 pm, at the Vicksburg United Methodist Church (217 S Main St, Vicksburg). Left to cherish Andrea’s memory is her husband of eight years, Josh; her children: Jeffrey and Jennifer; father, Dirk; step-father, John Munn; and brother, Bruce. She was preceded in death by her mother, Virginia. Please visit Andrea’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read her life story, archive a memory or photo and sign her memory book online. Memorial donations may be made to Kalamazoo Animal Rescue.