Obituary of Andrea Stowe Mathews

Andrea Stowe Mathews, daughter of the late Anne Swenning Mathews and the late Richard Stanley Mathews, and wife of Roy Neal Sharp, died at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on June 24, 2014, at the age of 54. She was born March 26, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts. Andrea celebrated her final birthday with friends over lunch at Fronimo's restaurant. Andrea graduated from Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut, in 1978, as a member of the National Honor Society and in college, from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1982, with honors. She majored in International Politics and Communications. Following her graduation from college, Andrea joined the U.S. Foreign Service, serving at the U.S. embassies in Mexico City and in Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast. Andrea's mother had encouraged Andrea's interest in other cultures and especially, in the archaeology of other modern and ancient cultures. Like her mother, Andrea loved to travel, and Andrea used her assignments as an opportunity to visit archaeological sites in Mexico and Guatemala and to visit the countries in West Africa that border the Ivory Coast. After Andrea met Roy in 1989, they travelled together on long weekend trips to Lome the capital of Togo; to Bamako the capital of Mali; to the ancient city of Timbuktu; and to Niamey, the capital of Niger. On another occasion Andrea toured the southern coast of Ghana. Besides travel, Andrea's favorite hobbies were yoga and studying/learning/ practicing foreign languages. In addition to her husband, Roy, Andrea is survived by her brother, Richard Mathews of Elm City, North Carolina; Rick's wife, Susie; their son, Brian, and Brian's wife, Liz, who live in Livingston, Montana. Other survivors include: Andrea's stepson, Troy Sharp of Clayton, North Carolina, Troy's wife, Renee and their daughter, Autumn; Andrea's stepdaughter, Christina Monaco of Nashua, New Hampshire, and her two children, Anthony and Michaila; and many loving friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Heifer International, which helps poor communities around the world to become self-sufficient through education (Heifer.org); the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (cfsaz.org), which provides information to the public on how to connect with community resources; Planned Parenthood (plannedparenthood.org/ppaz); or the Humane Society of Southern Arizona (hssaz.org). Andrea wishes to thank you for celebrating her life and her vision of a world where we can coexist in peace, whatever our personal, spiritual or religious beliefs are. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel.