By Ron Hayes
BOCA RATON — As a girl, Andrea Kornblue traveled the world. The daughter of a career military police officer with the U.S. Army, she grew up living in Japan, Germany and various assignments throughout the U.S.
From her father’s service, she learned to serve, and brought that spirit of volunteerism to her many years in Boca Raton.
Mrs. Kornblue served on numerous hospital gala committees during the early days of Boca Raton Regional Hospital and was a life member of the Debbie-Rand Memorial Service League. She volunteered for the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Gulf Stream School, Boca Raton High School, St. Andrew’s School, and was a longtime member of the Junior League of Boca Raton.
Mrs. Kornblue died Aug. 18 after a brave battle with cancer. She was 70.
“My mother was an amazing lady who lived a full life,” recalled her son, Brandon Kornblue of Bonita Springs. “She loved my sister and I, and we’re just really thankful for her and loved her a lot.”
Mrs. Kornblue’s daughter is Paige Kornblue Hunter, a former anchor at WPTV-NewsChannel 5.
Andrea Jayne Berry was born on Sept. 18, 1947, in Norristown, Pa.
Her volunteerism first surfaced at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pa., where she was a member of the student council, captain of the band front and a four-year member of the basketball team — “the only member with perfect hair,” she would boast.
At Shippensburg University, where she majored in sociology and criminology, she was the college’s social chairman, booking bands for campus events.
After college, she worked as a probation officer and a waitress on Martha’s Vineyard. She taught dance at an Arthur Murray Dance Studio and spent two years in Germany, working in hotel gift shops and at an Olympic ice skating rink.
While visiting family in South Florida, she met Dr. Edwin B. Kornblue, Boca Raton’s first full-time dentist, and the couple were married at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in 1975. Dr. Kornblue, her husband of 43 years, survives her.
Mrs. Kornblue’s life of service locally began soon after her arrival in the city.
“Andrea Kornblue was one of the most beloved Junior League members and she was an outstanding volunteer,” said Debbie Abrams, a board member of the Junior League of Boca Raton. “Her beauty and kind spirit made her everyone’s favorite. More than 30 years later, I still recall walking into my first League meeting and being graciously welcomed by her.”
In the days after her death, Brandon Kornblue said, he and his sister had each received more than 300 messages of sympathy and comfort from people who had known Mrs. Kornblue through her volunteer work.
“It wasn’t just us she impacted and brought joy to,” he said, “but a lot of people in a lot of different places.”
At a celebration of her life held Aug. 25 at the Chapel of Saint Andrew in Boca Raton, Paige Kornblue Hunter eulogized her mother.
“Remembering back to when my mom’s mom passed,” Mrs. Hunter said, “my mom told me, ‘I just miss sharing everything with her, visiting her and telling her about my day and you kids, or just picking up the phone and talking about everything and nothing.’
“That’s what she missed most about her mom, and I already miss that about her.
“My heart ached before I even lost her.”
In addition to her husband, son and daughter, Mrs. Kornblue is survived by six grandchildren; a brother, Ronald; a niece, Dawn; and seven cousins.
Contributions in Mrs. Kornblue’s memory may be made in her name to either the Debbie-Rand Memorial Service League or the Junior League of Boca Raton.
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