Andrea Ellen Cenedella

On Friday, March 3rd, Andrea Cenedella, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend passed away in Isle of Palms, SC. She was 80. Born to Margaret and Frank Buscanics of Belle Vernon PA, Andrea was a graduate of Penn State University where she studied journalism and met her husband of 58 years, Richard. They married in 1964. After a stint of working as a copywriter for an ad agency in Philadelphia, they moved to West Virginia and there started their family of three children, David, Laura, and Susan. They moved to Kirksville, MO, in 1976 where Andrea became active in fundraising, leading the North Central Missouri fundraising for United Cerebral Palsy and later as a founder and Director of the Northern Missouri Association for Citizens with Disabilities. Andi took great pride producing and directing very successful yearly locally televised telethon broadcasts, raising funds for these organizations. She was also very active with the League of Women Voters. The move to Isle of Palms later in life fulfilled a lifelong dream to live in a place where she could fall asleep to the sound of the ocean and host her much loved children and grandchildren, as well as a raft of beloved nieces and nephews.

She was a feisty, witty, and charming writer and presenter. In her college days, she wrote for an underground satire magazine, “Froth,” which caused a bit of a stir on campus. She thrived on intelligent debate and was a voracious reader. Andrea was a devout Catholic and her faith, along with her devotion to her family, remained ever at the center of her life. When her family was young, she loved traveling with them, broadening their experiences of the world together. Andrea had a love of gambling, at which she could be quite successful. Much like her father, she was a sports enthusiast. A huge Steelers fan, she organized a family football pool every year and also enjoyed fantasy football.

Andrea is survived by her husband Richard; son David Cenedella, his wife Anne, and their children Joseph, Nicholas, and Louis; daughter Laura Cenedella and her children Taylor Schoenekase, his wife Aubrey, and Kendall and Madison Schoenekase; daughter Susan Sherrow, her husband Jim, and their children, Ashley, Sabrina, and Michelle; brother Bob, and sisters Maggie, Mary, Carol, and Rita; sister-in-law Arlene; and brother-in-law Raymond.

All will miss her passionate curiosity, her joyful celebration of life, love of people, faith, and family, and, above all, her bountiful expression of love.