November 16, 2022

Mona Margaret Andrews
​ September 14, 1924 - November 1, 2022

​Mona Margaret Andrews, former Deer Lodge resident, died in Manhattan, Mont., on Tuesday, Nov. 1, after 98 well-lived years. She lived a life of kindness, generosity, patience, resilience and faith in her Lord.
Mona was born in Deer Lodge to Dr. George J. Marquette and Mona Beaumont Marquette on Sept. 14, 1924. Her family knew her as “Binkie,” so nick-named by her father for a favorite childhood toy, in order to avoid confusion with her mother with the same name. She and her brother, Bill, spent summers with their cousins at a small cottage her father built on Rock Creek Lake, west of Deer Lodge. The lake and the tradition of family gatherings at the two-room cottage were a centerpiece of the Beaumont/Marquette/Andrews family for five generations.
She graduated from Powell County High School as Salutatorian in 1942. Mona studied for two years at Montana State and then transferred to the University of Wisconsin where she graduated with a BS degree in Home Economics in 1946 and continued studies at Wisconsin leading to a Master of Science degree in 1947. She worked at the University of California – Berkeley doing cholesterol research from 1947-1948 and then the Chicago Meat Institute at the University of Chicago doing basic protein and vitamin research.
Mona met her future husband, Fred A. Andrews, while working in Chicago. The couple married on Aug. 15, 1951, at St. James Episcopal Church in Deer Lodge. They continued to live in the Chicago area while their two sons were born: John in 1953 and Mark in 1955. The family moved to Shorewood Hills, Wis., in 1957 and then to Edina, Minn., in 1966. She was active in the Episcopal Church, the P.E.O., garden club and served on several alumni boards at the University of Wisconsin. Mostly, though, she was a great Mom.
Mona moved to De Pere, Wis., in the early 2000s to be nearer to John’s family. During that time her eyesight began to fail and her independence declined. She moved to Parkhaven Retirement, Assisted Living and Memory Care Community in Manhattan, Mont., in 2015. Age did not dim her mental acuity or spirit. She remained as active as her frail bones and limited eyesight and hearing allowed, with her son, John, and his wife, Sue, close by in Manhattan and visits from multiple family members over the years as well as a trip back to her hometown of Deer Lodge.
Her husband, Fred, and her brother, Bill, preceded her in death. Living family members include son Dr. John (Dr. Sue Piechowski), their sons Michael (Rebecca) and their three children and Matthew (Mary) and their four children; son Mark, his daughters Dr. Sarah Andrews and Alexandra and son Jordan. Mona will also be missed by Fred’s sister, Sally, her Marquette nephew and nieces and her Daniels cousins.
Mona’s ashes will be interred next to Fred’s in the rotunda mausoleum at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mona does not want flowers or donations in her name; she asked that you follow her example and lead a life of kindness and generosity in her memory.

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