MILL VALLEY, CA—Beloved, unconventional and fun wife, sister, aunt and friend Andrea Manson Krueger passed away October 14, 2018, following an extended ‘dance’ with lung, bone and brain cancer.
Born at San Francisco’s Children’s Hospital on March 25, 1952, Andrea grew up in Menlo Park and Portola Valley, Calif., the second daughter of Dr. Arnold Manson and Dasie Sappington Giese Manson (both deceased). She was blessed with her father’s brains and quick wit and her mother’s moxie and perfectionism (and beauty!).
She graduated from Woodside High School (1970) and the California College of the Arts (1974) BFA in design. She had a long successful professional career developing and managing international computer aided design installations.
She married her gorgeous husband of 28 years, Kenneth Henry William Krueger “The Magnificent” of New York City, known to many and most as “Harvey” (a much easier name to remember with a fun story line you might want to ask him about) at the Roos House in San Francisco on September 29, 1990, in a memorable wedding.
She suspected he was The One when they kissed beneath a full moon at the St. Francis Yacht Club. Then confirmed when he showed up bleary eyed to hear her sing in a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” the next day.
Andy and Harvey shared a beautiful life together. Favorite activities included hiking Angel’s Landing in Zion, visiting Yosemite Falls each May, hiking to the Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan, and marveling with nature’s euphoria atop Neko Harbor in Antarctica. Andrea dragged Harvey to see polar bears, walruses, kangaroos, leopards and Komodo dragons in their native habitats. She searched for, but never found, narwhals in Iceland and Greenland.
She adapted to Harvey’s love of the San Francisco Giants once he explained the infield fly rule and other errata and listened to each repeated story of Ebbet’s Field and Gil Hodges, Junior Gilliam, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson as if it was the first time he told the stories, hands gesticulating gleefully, east coast style. They loved attending Giants games together and arguing about where to park the car.
She was lucky to call Lisa Ellen Sorensen her adored sister. Lisa, at 16 and Andrea, at 13, took out the family car one night (under the auspices of going to the library or some other solid story) to secretly go to a concert at the then new Fillmore in San Francisco. The concert included the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane and their first light show. All went well until they returned to find the car stolen at 2 a.m. Busted. Big time. They returned to the Fillmore and were given a long and quiet ride home down the Peninsula by Bill Graham, astute enough to not entrust two underage girls to anyone else. The car was found a week-and-a-half later in Golden Gate Park, trashed.
She was blessed with two exceptional nieces, Ashley Mia Sorensen Donnelly of Texas and Andrea Kristine Sorensen of North Carolina. Both girls tolerated being dressed in finery at Christmas holidays like “twins” until healthy revolt ensued at puberty. The girls were taken to the opera at an early age.
They signed contracts written by Andrea (who may or may not have earned the nickname of “The General” by her beloved nieces around this time) to write daily journal entries and complete homework assignments when taken out of school and on trips to Southeast Asia, dreamy islands and repeated Disney madness.
Andrea and her dear friend Karen Summey shared a beautiful friendship of mutual support, love and encouragement for over 55 years.
Andrea loved the opera, with subscriptions in San Francisco and New York City. Music was her refuge and inspiration.
In honor of her earliest musical memory at two years old of the Peer Gynt Suite, she made a pilgrimage to Edvard Grieg’s composing cottage on Lake Nordas at Troldhaugen, Bergen, Norway, where the piece was created.
She saw Pavarotti repeatedly and felt exaltation listening to Mahler’s Second Symphony, “Resurrection,” Mussorgsky’s “Pictures At An Exhibition” and anything Tchaikovsky or Aretha.
She still spun vinyl from her extensive original record collection of 1960s rock and roll, early folk and classic Broadway musicals and could Name That Tune with alacrity, usually involving a hearty, if eye rolling sing-a-long. You never knew if you were going to get “Carousel” or “Dave Van Ronk” after dinner at the Krueger home.
She lived in Mill Valley, Calif, for 38 years, the last 28 with Harvey atop Summit and Fern Canyon on Mt. Tamalpais, with sweeping views of the mountain, valleys and bay, marred only by the occasional mashup with rogue mountain bikers while walking the Temelpa and Hoo Koo E Koo trails with the family’s beloved dachshunds. Her neighbors were like family, with keys to the kitchen.
Andrea was renown for her generosity and attention to details. She loved to regale friends with picture perfect recall of their good times together. She had an uncanny ability to create splashy word pictures and treasured having a creative vocabulary.
She led a beautiful life and appreciated every second of it.
Andrea was cremated and her ashes spread along with those of beloved dachshunds Henry and Hannah during a private ceremony.
Please attend a Celebration of Life for Andrea which will take place at the Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithedale, Mill Valley, Calif., at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 9.
She requested that any donations be made to your charity of choice.
