Apolonia Andre

I did not know Pola. But reading the stories about her life, I am amazed at how this mirrors Charmaine, the only Andre family member that I have the pleasure of knowing. Pola must surely have been an extraordinary, beautiful person, because her legacy are those children, grandchildren and friends she has inspired, and in turn who will continue to inspire others with grace, compassion, and loving kindness.

Dupont hasn't been nor it will ever be the same without Mrs. Andre. I got to know her much better when I moved back to Washington as an adult. She was the director of my daughter's first musical program as a preschooler and my sister's first piano teacher. I also worked with her numerous times in concert and found her ability to appreciate my questionable sense of humor while remaining her ever dignified self very endearing! Rest in peace, dear friend.

Pola sure knew how to pick 'em. A prescient risk-taker and encouraging music educator, she calls a 15 year old who she probably only knew through school talent show competitions against her marvelously gifted daughters, and talks him into stepping up and taking a church organist job playing for Vietnam-bound army recruits, giving me a unique embarkation point of my own into a historical landscape of music, history and life (oh, and 637 weddings). After seeing her picture in today's Tribune,...