Andrea Davis Pitts

Andrea Davis Pitts, aged 78, passed away on June 13, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio, with her son and daughter by her side, after a brief and intense battle with glioblastoma.

Andrea was born in Manhattan, New York, on November 18, 1945, and grew up primarily in Rumford, Maine, with her parents and four younger siblings. She was a 1967 graduate of Syracuse University with a major in fashion design illustration. She met Warren Canfield Pitts one summer at Saddleback Lake Lodge during her years as a student. After graduation, she moved to Massachusetts and began working for the Jordan Marsh Department Store in Boston. Andrea and Warren were married on September 14, 1968 in Rangeley, Maine, starting their married life by setting off into Mooselookmeguntic Lake in an amphibious car! Andrea traveled throughout Europe and Asia as a buyer for Jordan Marsh.

Andrea and Warren started their family in Newton, Massachusetts. Their daughter, Allison, was born in 1976 and their son, Timothy, was born in 1978. After working for Jordan Marsh, Andrea went to the Katherine Gibbs School and did secretarial work for Larry Glynn, then went on to do interior design work and become office manager for Faith Casler Associates, the Fessenden School, and a variety of temporary jobs. Andrea delighted in raising her children, with the help of the McIntyre Family, Diane Erba at Day After Day, and Robin Leonard. She spent her free time making her gardens flourish, enjoying her kids' various sports competitions, cross-country skiing, and visiting friends and family throughout New England.

Andrea and Warren purchased a Brigham's franchise in 1991and ran the restaurant and ice cream parlor with their children until 1998. They loved engaging with the community, working with many friends and Newton North High School students, and bringing happiness to all through ice cream. After deciding it was time to leave the restaurant business and have an adventure, Andrea and Warren moved to Pinehurst North Carolina for several years, where Andrea worked for the Pinehurst Resort and they enjoyed playing golf together on Pinehurst #2.

Inspired to head north to care for Warren's parents, Andrea and Warren ultimately relocated to Saunderstown, Rhode Island, where they remained from 2001 until 2021. Andrea worked for Hammond Housecraft and United Airlines until she retired, but her primary focus was on renovating the Pitts Family home, beautifying their gardens, vanquishing the bull briar, and adoring her nine grandchildren born between 2004 and 2015. Summers were family time with grandchildren visiting most of the summer and reveling in the time they spent with Grammy and Grampa on Hammond Hill.

Most recently, Andrea and Warren relocated to Bexley, Ohio, to live near their son and his family in Bexley, and daughter and her family in South Bend, Indiana. Andrea cared for Warren, who began battling Alzheimer's in 2018, enjoyed cultivating her new home and garden, volunteered at the Franklin Park Conservatory, worked to start a knitting club at the local senior center, supported the annual Bexley Brewfest fundraiser started by Tim and his wife, Ashley, and enjoyed her lovely friends and neighbors.

Andrea is survived by her husband, Warren, children Allison (husband, Sharif Nijim) and Tim (wife, Ashley); grandchildren Luca, Olivia, Henry, Madeline, Avonlea, Tucker, Phinneas, Enzo, and Briggs; sisters Deb Davis and Cynthia Fowler; brother, John Davis. Andrea was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Margaret Grest Davis, and sister, Marjorie Fagan.

We will miss Andrea terribly. Should you feel moved to celebrate her, please go out and dig in the dirt and enjoy feeling the sunshine on your face. Look for the beauty in the world and appreciate Andrea's email signature: "experience the rapture of life." If you would like to support a cause that was dear to her, please donate to Hops and Gather in support of Alzheimer's Research to provide hope for Warren and millions of others: www.hopsandgather.org/donations.

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