Andrea Raphael: A Bright and Shining Smile and a Hug for Everyone

A bright, shining smile was what you got when you locked eyes with Andrea Raphael. She was always so happy to see you, in fact she was thrilled. Her passing leaves a giant hole in our community and mostly in the lives of her small children Christopher and Maeve and and husband John. When the couple would throw their annual summer parties in the Florence back yard, everyone would go….it was a chance to catch up with people you might only see there, since nobody else would have such regular big bashes for what she called ‘her family.’

It felt like family. When you’d show up with your potluck dish, she’d yell hello across the room, and zoom in for inevitable warm hug. She was a hugger, a most wonderful hugger. She showed the warmth to me, to her family, and to anyone who was lucky enough to have known her.

The last time I saw her was in my cafe,  She jumped up when she saw me, delighted that I was there. The family had spent extended time in Guatemala, and then traveled to China, and she was always interested in talking about these family travels, and asking questions about the next great place they could go.  She had so many friends, in the many fields in which she had worked, and I am positive that the outpouring at the Log Cabin on Monday for her memorial service will reflect that.