James William “Jim” Andrea, 76, of Pleasant Prairie, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 2, 2015, at United Hospital System-Kenosha Campus with his loving family by his side. Born on December 22, 1938, in Kenosha, he was the son of the late Michael and Margaret (Bruno) Andrea. Jim graduated from Mary D. Bradford High School, was educated at the University of Wisconsin, DeVry University-Chicago and Moler Barber College-Chicago. On June 6, 1959, he and Carol Thomsen were married at St. Mark’s Catholic Church. Jim was President of Wellsco Controls, Inc. for over 25 years until his retirement in 2001. Prior to that, he was a barber at Andrea’s Barber Shop as well as a manager at Custom Control Products in Racine. While Jim’s focus and motivation in life was to work hard and raise their six children, he also took time for recreation, enjoying golfing, astronomy, coin collecting, photography, and making his famous pizzas every week. He traveled all over the world both for work and pleasure visiting such far flung places as New Zealand, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and many countries in Europe. One of his happiest vacations was when he and Carol took a car trip up the West Coast together. His hard work, generosity and belief in being a ‘giver’ rather than a ‘taker’ in this world were a role model for his family that they will always cherish. Jim is survived by his wife, Carol Andrea of Pleasant Prairie; his six children, Michael E (Alisa) Andrea of Burnsville, NC, Mark T. (Lisa) Andrea of Pleasant Prairie, Dr. James C. (Dr. Lynnette) Andrea of Vadnais Heights, MN, Suzanne C. Andrea of Pleasant Prairie, Jonathan E. Andrea of Mt. Pleasant and Sara J. (Colin) Andrea-Neill of Pleasant Prairie, fourteen grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters, Gloria Andrea of Kenosha and Rose Mary Kishline of Seattle WA. Jim was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Eugene and Albert. The visitation will be held on Saturday, November 7th, at Proko Funeral Home from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. The memorial service will follow at 5:00 p.m. at Proko Funeral Home.Proko Funeral Home & Crematory5111-60th StreetKenosha, WI 53144Phone: (262) 654-3533Visit Jim’s Online Memorial Book at:www.prokofuneralhome.com
Condolences
Dan Aronson
November 6, 2015
To Jim's family...Jim was always a very good friend to me. We shared many hours of work at the Wells company and had fun doing it. I always looked up to Jim because he would talk to me, and later we shared many of lunch together when I was a supplier. For as far back I can remember he always talked about his family and how proud he was. I will miss Jim, just wish we could have spent more time together after retirement. God Bless your family and Jim.
Roger and Judy Horne
November 5, 2015
Dear Carol and Family,We are very sorry for your loss. Our deepest sympathy. Sincerely, Roger and Judy
Tom Wells, Jr.
November 5, 2015
Dear Carol & family, Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with you and your family. Early in my career, Jim was always willing to share his knowledge with me (even though he knew I wasn't smart enough to understand controls logic and programming - and he was right...)I'll never forget the kindness your family extended to mine and I'm sorry that family commitments won't allow me to travel to be with you. As much as Jim loved you all, I think he'd say that I had my priorities straight.Tom, Wendy, Noah, and Aaron Wells PS - I hope the old Mira Coil photos bring a smile to your faces as it did ours! The one with Jim, Tom, Sr., Terry Aronson, Henry Zapletal, and Truman Vacca is legendary in the Leggett machinery group.