Nancy Martin Andrews

June 19, 1934 - December 9, 2018

Raleigh

Nancy Martin Andrews passed away on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at her home. Nancy was born in Spray, NC, and was the daughter of Eva Johnston Martin Sykes and Wesley Martin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon Andrews. Nancy is survived by her daughter, Deborah Andrews, son, Martin Andrews; granddaughters, Dawn Mabrey (Clint), Veronica Isley, and Gwyneth Isley; grandson, Seth Andrews (Lizz); great granddaughters, Chloe and Allie Mabrey; and her longtime friend and companion, John Schmidt. Nancy is also survived by her stepsister, Beth Alexiou, and Beth's sons, Gregory and Philip.

Nancy made good friends wherever she went. She possessed a contagious smile that welcomed people and a positivity that gave encouragement and support to all who knew her. As her dear friend, John, observed, "Wherever we go, Nancy already knows somebody, or she makes a new acquaintance." Nancy had good friends in the two choirs in which she sang at North Raleigh United Methodist Church, at her health club, Healthtrax, at her Weight Watcher meetings, with her covenant group of more than 20 years, at the North Regional Wake County Public Library, in her work with Duke Raleigh Hospital, and with her beloved "Patio Girls," a lovely group of neighborhood friends who forged a bond built on compassion, humor, and sincere devotion.

Nancy had three passions that worked well with her love of people - her love of sports, her dedication to charity, and her love for travel. Nancy and John shared a great love of college sports, and they spent many Saturday afternoons watching their favorite North Carolina universities play football and basketball. Their favorite sporting events, however, were the softball games in which Nancy's great granddaughters, Chloe and Allie, were the athletes, and Nancy was always immensely proud of their athletic as well as their academic accomplishments.

In the early 1980s, Nancy was able to fulfill her dream of doing charitable works when she and her late husband, Gordon, established a nonprofit charity organization, Christian Attic. Nancy and Gordon were then able to gather gently used clothing, toys, and furniture and to distribute these items to people in need, both locally and as far away as Appalachia in West Virginia.

In her passion for travel Nancy made two trips to Europe with John in which they visited the major cities of Germany, Austria, France, and Holland. During these trips, she particularly enjoyed Frankfurt, where John's son Greg and his family reside, and the Bavarian Alps, where she endeared herself to the German relatives of John's late wife, Lore.

One other European journey that Nancy treasured was the trip to Italy she made with her daughter Deborah and Nancy's then young granddaughters, Veronica and Gwyneth. This trip was made as part of Deborah's doctoral research which involved the four of them traveling between Rome and the Adriatic coast of Italy during the summer of 2006.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 6, 2019 at the North Raleigh United Methodist Church, 8501 Honeycutt Rd, Raleigh, NC. The family will receive friends at the reception immediately following the service.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News and Observer on Dec. 23, 2018.