Andrea Michelle Wiggins Tolbert
Andrea Michelle Wiggins Tolbert was born March 28, 1955, in Los Angeles, CA to Nonie and Vivian Wiggins. She was the youngest of four daughters; Dianne Rae, Donna Andrea, and Carole Michelle. Her mother named her by using the middle names of her sisters, Donna and Carole. Andrea adored and looked up to all three of her sisters, and they adored her as well. As a very young child, before beginning school, Andrea shared with her family an exuberance for life, family, friends, nature, and the outdoors. She loved family gatherings and potlucks, that oftentimes turned into fun board game parties. She enjoyed her many trips to the park with her daddy, car rides with her mom whenever she ran errands, pop-in visits to the homes of family and friends, and playing with her sisters when they returned home from school. She also loved roller skating, riding her tricycle and bike, hopscotch, hula hooping, pogo stick, and much more. Andrea always looked forward to fun Sunday family outings. Her parents always made sure Sundays were filled with memorable experiences of family time and love. Andrea attended grade school at Saint Patrick's Catholic School and Holy Cross Catholic School. She spent ...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
r memorable years at Saint Michael's High School for Girls, graduating in 1973. Andrea cherished her friends and continued many friendships throughout her life. After high school, Andrea followed her heart and life-long love for animals and began working at Green Dog & Cat Veterinarian Hospital in 1973. She loved all of God's creatures. Animals could sense her love and occasionally would follow her home. In 1975, Andrea met Jerry Lee Tolbert. They were married on March 20, 1976. Andrea and Jerry shared a love of nature and camping. They took many trips to numerous campgrounds in Northern California. Andrea and Jerry also had a love for Ford Mustangs. Jerry restored a blue '66 Mustang for her. They enjoyed racing each other in their Mustangs. Jerry taught Andrea how to drive big trucks and all about cars. She held on to the car knowledge she learned from him throughout her life. Andrea was proud to be the niece of Millie and the great Sugar Ray Robinson. Though not a fan of boxing (because of the violence), she was excited to begin working as an administrative secretary for her uncle at his Sugar Ray Youth Foundation in 1975. There, she had the opportunity to work with at-risk youth and help people from all walks of life. One of her favorite memories from the Sugar Ray Youth Foundation was the day she met Heavy Weight Champion of the World Mohammad Ali...The Greatest of All Time. As a young child, Andrea developed a love for travel. In 1976 she launched her career in the airline industry at Trans World Airlines, and later began working for United Airlines in 1978. On October 29, 1980, Andrea and Jerry welcomed their beautiful daughter Nicole to the world. She embraced and treasured her new role as a mother. Andrea was a dedicated, wonderful mother, and always ensured her daughter was happy and healthy. She exposed Nicole to the world and travel at an early age. Andrea took great pride in raising her daughter to be an educated, well-mannered, compassionate young lady. Andrea and Nicole moved back to her childhood home with her beloved mother Vivian in 1982. This three-generation household enjoyed spending time together, as well as traveling. Andrea always looked and thought of ways to make special memories. She began the tradition of celebrating Nicole's half birthday each year, often with a trip to Hawaii. Weekly outings to Fedco and Sizzler were a family favorite. Because of Andrea's faith and upbringing, she kept Nicole enrolled in Catholic school. Andrea served as a room parent, PTA member, and Girl Scout leader. She chaperoned many field trips and was an active volunteer for school and church fundraisers. Andrea enjoyed taking her daughter, nieces, and nephews on special outings. She would take them on many wonderful adventures, regularly going to the LA Zoo, Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World, The Magic Castle, Mini golf, Griffith Park, Palm Springs, concerts, movies, museums, and weekend getaways at beautiful hotels and resorts. Andrea had a special knack for finding fun, unique places to take the kids. All of her nieces share fond memories of spending the night and combing their Auntie 'Drea's hair and making Jell-O with her. It was a well-loved expectation when any of them spent the night with her. In 1984, Andrea joined American Express Travel. Her hard work, friendly personality, people skills, and technical abilities propelled her on a progressive 30+ year career at American Express. Andrea loved traveling all over the country and the world, often taking Nicole with her. Paris and Washington DC were some of her favorite destinations. Andrea especially loved Hawaii. She and Nicole traveled to Hawaii so many times that Andrea lost count of the trips (she estimated between 80-100). Her last trip to Hawaii was in October 2021 to celebrate Nicole's birthday. Andrea also loved cruising, taking over a dozen cruises in her life. She was looking forward to a family cruise planned for January 2024. In 2005, Andrea followed her sister Carole and moved to Georgia, with Nicole moving in July and Andrea making the move that December. They lived in a small city named Acworth. Andrea loved the small-town feel, being on first name basis with the post man, store clerks, and bankers. Her favorite thing to do was having dinner with her family at Lake Acworth and watching the sunset. She delighted in helping Nicole take in and care for over 50 foster children over the 10 years they lived in Georgia. She worked part-time in the office for Mars Hill Church, where she made many dear friends. Andrea especially enjoyed assisting with the homeless outreach and food pantry. On July 5, 2008, Andrea suffered a series of heart attacks while visiting Chattanooga with Nicole and two of their foster children. Over the course of the month, she had several more heart attacks and was resuscitated over a dozen times. She had open heart surgery and was placed in a medically-induced coma in ICU for over three weeks. Her family never left her side. When she finally woke up she shared that she saw Jesus. She said that He told her He wasn't ready for her yet and that she had more work to do on Earth. She clearly recalled that He touched her on her index finger right before she woke up. After months of rehab, physical therapy, and speech therapy she almost fully recovered. However, her sensation in her "Jesus" finger never returned. This experience brought her peace and reassurance. It strengthened her faith. From this point on she was not scared of death. She knew where she was going and looked forward to being greeted by Jesus again. One of Andrea's biggest joys was the annual family vacation to Yosemite National Park. These special trips began when she was only two years old. Andrea made over 50 trips to Yosemite in her lifetime. She experienced and enjoyed camping in a tent, trailer, and housekeeping camp. The famous, but now defunct, firefall was always a highlight of her childhood trips. Andrea treasured this quality time with her family. She often recalled fond memories of sleeping under the stars with her father. She would fondly retell a story of when she watched a mother raccoon break into her cooler and steal one of her infamous tuna sandwiches, then feed it to her babies. Andrea also loved to share the story of how her nephew Reynold saved her from a snake bite with his Boy Scout knife. Her bravery and quick-thinking skills excelled in Yosemite, as she had many encounters with black bears and mountain lions. Andrea was known for making a concerted effort to spend time and bond with all the children in the family during these camping trips...teaching them to skip rocks and fish, the importance of respecting nature, taking bike riding adventures, watching meteor showers, and just appreciating God's creation. Andrea was a natural born teacher. She was patient, creative, inspiring, and reassuring. She taught many classes with hundreds of people, and even tutored occasionally. All of her students loved her. She was also an excellent writer. Her ability to bring life to stories could make you feel like you were there. Andrea loved to read. She and Nicole would spend hours at the thrift store looking for books. Andrea had an amazing talent and love for crochet. She delighted in making scarves, hats, and blankets for family and friends. She enjoyed finding rare and imported yarn for her special projects. She enjoyed meeting and chatting with people wherever she went. Every conversation with Andrea was always so warm, charming, and engaging. Andrea loved her pets. It was a well-known fact that her pets ate well! She loved cooking for her pets, spending as much time on their food as food for the family. Andrea would prepare fresh meals for them such as chicken, steak, pork chops, baby spinach (not the frozen stuff!), waffles, and scrambled eggs. In her lifetime, there were many animals that were fortunate enough to be one of Andrea's beloved pets... The dogs: Toby, Autumn, Kyrin, Gyzmo, Trey, Sophie-Anne, Teddy Graham, and Kona Rose. The cats: Mai-tai, Misty, Heather, Patches, Pumpkin, Hop Sing, Juice, Cashmere, Kohl, Aria, July, and Kazi. The birds: Peppe, Sunny, and Sky. The reptiles: three turtles, two iguanas, and Reign her leopard gecko. Additionally, Andrea saved and rescued countless animals throughout her life, including helping her granddaughter nurse an abandoned baby bat back to health. Cooking and baking were a way that Andrea showed her love. Her mother had her in the kitchen at an early age learning how to prepare delicious meals for family and friends. This passion grew as time went on. You could often find her in the kitchen making tacos for Saturday Family Taco Night. Andrea delighted in baking and decorating her daughter's birthday cakes. Andrea loved to learn new recipes, experiment with different spices and flavors, and prepare dishes from various cultures. Everything she made was delicious. Yet, she was especially famous for her gumbo, chicken soup, tuna sandwiches, chicken and rice, clam dip, and cakes. Regardless of the dish Andrea was making, love was always her main ingredient. In 2015, Andrea and Nicole moved to the beautiful desert of Arizona. Her sister Carole and brother-in-law Bill soon followed to enjoy the uniqueness of the state with them. Her great niece Jessica joined the family in Arizona a year later as well. Andrea loved visiting Sedona and taking in the vista of the red-rock buttes and amazing formations, canyon walls, chapel, and vortexes. Andrea took numerous trips to the Grand Canyon with Nicole and family. She shared a deep love of Native American culture and history with her sister Carole and would frequent the Heard Museum to experience and learn more about it. Andrea delighted in spending time and playing with her great-great nephew Major and great-great niece Myla. Andrea loved spending time at home, walking to the lake, watching the wildlife in her backyard, and spending her evenings on the couch with Nicole and her son-in-law Jeff. Over the past 15 years since her encounter with Jesus, Andrea battled and overcame numerous health issues. In Andrea's last days, she smiled, told everyone she loved them, and said to 'look to the sky'. She passed away peacefully at home while holding Nicole's hand and surrounded by family and friends on May 4, 2023. Andrea leaves behind to cherish her memory, her only daughter Nicole Michelle Graham, son-in-law Jeff Graham, granddaughter Franchesca Tolbert, granddaughter Ana Tolbert Graham, great grandson Malachi Tolbert, sister Dianne Burbank, brother-in-law Reynold Burbank Sr., sister Donna Vasvari, sister Dr. Carole Wiggins Ware, nephew Reynold (Rose) Burbank Jr., niece Deborah (Mark) Powers, nephew Dennis Burbank, nephew Stephen Burbank, great niece Dominique Burbank, great niece Brooke (Charles) Bloom, great nephew Joshua Burbank, great niece Reyanna Burbank, great niece Jessica (Joshua) Young, great-great nephew Major Ellis, great-great niece Kaya Burbank, great-great nephew Gianni Burbank, great-great niece Chloe Tucker, great-great niece Myla Young, great-great nephew David Bloom, great-great niece Aurora Bloom, and many cherished relatives and friends. Andrea was preceded in death by her father Nonie Wiggins and mother Vivian Wiggins.
