Andrea Caron Kempf passed away peacefully on March 20, 2023, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease. She is survived by her husband of thirty years, Evan Luskin, two children, Robin Kempf (Peter Haxton) and Lucas Kempf (Purvee), and four grandchildren, Alison, Meerabela, Nick, and Hersh. A war baby, Andrea was born in San Francisco, CA, to Esther (Zelby) and Benjamin Caron.
She was raised in Detroit, MI,
attending Cass Tech, before moving with her parents and brother, Sam, to
Albuquerque, NM, where she completed her high school education. After
graduating from Brandeis University with a Bachelor of Arts, including a
semester in Israel, she received a Master of Arts in Teaching from the
Johns Hopkins University.
She initially taught high school in
Cleveland, OH, and in Manhattan, NY, but soon took her first job in a
library at Columbia University. Later, Andrea moved to Cambridge, MA,
with her first husband, had her two awesome kids, and got her Master of
Library Science from Simmons College. This launched her rich career as a
librarian. She worked at the Albuquerque Public Library, in the VISTA
program, then at the University of Northern Colorado, and finally at the
Johnson County Community College.
Andrea was very involved in
the Jewish community, and she loved to cook, but she will be remembered
most as an avid reader and book reviewer. She represented the JCCC
Billington Library in China, Hawaii, the Netherlands, and Russia and
wrote a book about romance novels. She also wrote reviews for the
Library Journal and the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, among other
publications, and won an award for Reviewer of the Year from Library
Journal. She always had a book recommendation for everyone she met.
Andrea met her second husband at a Jewish singles service at
Congregation Kehillath Israel, and together they traveled around the
world and enjoyed many opera performances. She will be dearly missed by
many.
In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest donating to
the Alzheimer’s Association, MAZON, Harvesters, or the Yiddish Book
Center.
Click HERE for service details.