Andrea (Carlesi) Roberts . . . Tribute to a Dear Friend

     Our circle and KHS graduating class of 1987 has suffered a sad loss with the passing of a dear friend and colleague, Andrea (Carlesi) Roberts. Many of us knew her as Andi. She leaves behind a loving husband, Brian, and two beautiful children, Carolann (6) and Dillon (3).

copyright 2011 Jennifer Domenick, Love Life Images

    

     I had the pleasure of growing up with her, having known her for over 30 years. Our social circle spanned across numerous genres in elementary, junior and high school: cheerleaders, athletes, band members, drill team, majorettes - she was friends with everyone. She had an infectious laugh - I remember hearing it in the hallways when I would be retrieving things from my locker and thinking, yep, I know that laugh anywhere. 

     The word "hero" is befitting of her. She was an American soldier in Iraq flying helicopters for 101st Airborne. When I first learned she was going overseas to fight for our country, I recall thinking, wow, followed soon by amazing . . . how incredibly brave she is . . . what an unbelievable accomplishment.  She and I kept in touch during the time she was serving in Iraq. On occasion, I would receive an email from her when she was able to access a computer. They would have a little downtime for some fun and she shared with me that they had just finished watching a camel spider fight. She knew I had an insane phobia of spiders and relished in providing me details of their size, color and how crooked their legs looked as they fought in a makeshift ring. She shared that they had to get creative sometimes in the desert to produce a little fun and she immediately thought of me when witnessing these spider fights. Nice. I still get the heebie-jeebies thinking about that story, but I laugh and am thankful that I have this fun memory with her. She served our country well and made us proud. A true fighter. She fought two battles: one for our country and the other against leukemia. She is the epitome of courage. 

     A few months ago, I had heard she was in the hospital receiving treatment for her latest bout with leukemia and I decided, on a whim, to call her one evening. I wasn't sure if she would be up for talking, but she answered her cell phone on the first ring and recognized my voice right away. She sounded groggy, obviously under the effects of the meds, but her spirits seemed to be up. Brian had just left from visiting her and she was alone at the moment, stating this was a good time for her to talk. She started asking me questions about my family and how we liked living in NC. Shortly thereafter, she changed the subject and started asking questions about many of our high school classmates, throwing out names: Shelly, Missy, Joann, Kathleen, Mindy, Terry, Robin, Sadie, Jodi . . . do you hear from any of them? Did you know what they were up to these days? she asked. She then started asking me about some of our previous teachers: Mr. Rybicki, Mr. Bowers, Mr. Ashe . . . are they still teaching or are they retired by now? she asked. She inquired if anyone started making plans for our high school reunion.  She commented that she hadn't heard anything. She expressed concern that poor Molly has been so involved for most of our reunions every time and someone else really needed to do this job and give her a break. This made me laugh - I told her not to worry about it and assured her someone would eventually raise their hand for the job. She hoped she could make it. If she felt well by then, she definitely wanted to try. By now, her voice was getting groggier and I wanted her to get some sleep. We shared some laughs and I think going down memory lane provided her with a distraction from what she was going through at the time. I told her she needed to hurry up and recover because our gang wanted to have her join us for dinner again at the Mariner. She promised to get back on Facebook soon. I told her she has a lot of people who love her and are praying for her recovery - everyone would be happy to see her post something. We promised to make dinner plans again.  

     Andi, we miss you. Your friendship . . . your laugh . . . the funny stories of your kids . . . your photos on Facebook. Your legacy will live on in our hearts and in your beautiful babies. I know you will be at our reunion this year in spirit . . . we will have a special toast in your honor.

Rest in peace . . . our dear friend . . . our hero.