Darlene Gualandi Andre, died Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Las Vegas, NV.
A traditional funeral service was held Thursday, July 9, at Lee Memorial Funeral Home in Pahrump, NV, immediately followed by a Catholic Mass at Our Lady of the Valley Church. She was buried in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Friday, July 17, alongside of her husband,who preceded her in death on Dec. 7, 2007.
Mrs. Andre was born on Nov. 2, 1937, at home in Schram City, the seventh child of Gino Massimo and Mary Margaret (Rooney) Gualandi. She married Florian (Andy) Michael Andre on Sept. 30, 1955, in Crown Point, IN, and they had two children together, a son, Gino, and a daughter, Mary Catherine. She and her husband were married over 52 years until his death.
She attended Hillsboro High School for a few years before graduating from Roosevelt High School in East Chicago, IN, in 1955, after the coal mine her father worked in closed, and the family relocated.
In 1986, she retired from AC Delco Electronics, an automotive parts brand that was owned by General Motors in Kokomo, IN, where she and her husband were both employed.
An active member of Our Lady of the Valley Roman Catholic Church in Pahrump, NV, where she often led the Holy Rosary for over 30 years. She and her husband, along with a group of friends from their church also created a cookbook, Gifts from the Bounty: The Joy of Giving, which sold thousands of copies, and was a very large fundraiser for their church.
She is survived by her son, Gino Andre and his family of Kokomo, IN; daughter, Mary Catherine Woods and her family of Las Vegas, NV; older sister, Rosemary Weller of Raymond; younger sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Leon Jovas of Hammond, IN; sister-in-law, Mary Alice Gualandi of Toms River, New Jersey; sister-in-law, Patricia Gualandi of Yalaha, FL; grandchildren; cousins, Patsy Gualandi Smith, Gary Gualandi and Debbie Gualandi Page, as well as several other cousins, nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Jane Gualandi; brothers, Gino, Paul, Joseph (Squab), John (Jack) and Michael (Mick) Gualandi; two nieces, Diane and Mercedes Gualandi; and two nephews, Joseph Paul Gualandi and Brian Jovas.
