Andrea Wallace Hoskins, who passed away peacefully July 30 in Frisco, Texas, at age 83, nothing was more important than her family. She was a homemaker who took care of her husband and three children for more than 30 years. During her life, she also cared for dogs, ducks, guinea pigs, turtles, and lizards, as well as looking after her mother and her husband’s aunt. She was, at heart, a selfless, devoted, and kind caregiver.
Born February 14, 1940, to Bratton and Marianna Wallace, Andrea Elizabeth grew up in the small farm town of Caruth, Missouri, with her brother, Bratton Alvis. She was quiet and studious, and she enjoyed playing with the family dogs, talking with her grandmother on the porch swing, and listening to Elvis Presley (hearing Elvis’s songs brought a smile to her face up till the end of her life). In 1958 she began a bachelor’s degree in dietetics at the University of Missouri, where she met the love of her life, Robert Lee (Bob) Hoskins. They were married soon after graduating from Missouri. They moved several times for Bob’s work, to Beaumont, Texas, where they had their first child, Leslie Ann; then to Pippa Passes, Kentucky, where they had their second child, Charlotte Leigh; then briefly to Denton, Texas, and finally to Jonesboro, Arkansas, where they had their third child, Zachary Wallace. She lived in Jonesboro for more than four decades. A devoted Christian, she was an active member of Jonesboro’s First Presbyterian Church. Andrea had many happy memories with her family: vacations to Opryland, Disneyworld, and the Grand Canyon; board games (she was surprisingly, ruthlessly dominant at Monopoly); and especially the many holidays when grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins would come for a visit. Nothing was more important than family.
In 1994, Andrea’s life was permanently altered when Bob died unexpectedly after a brief illness at age 52. Her three children were all grown and moved away, and now, in the wake of Bob’s death, Andrea faced the challenge of beginning to write a new chapter to her life at age 54. Frequent visits from her children helped, and she quickly made some close friends in Jonesboro, but probably her greatest source of support and solace was Crystal, her miniature poodle, who spent the next 17 years by Andrea’s side (or more often, in her lap). Toward the end of Crystal’s life, Andrea got her second spirit animal, Lucky, a Shih Tzu she found abandoned on the side of the road. Those who knew Andrea and Crystal wouldn’t have thought it possible that she could be closer to any dog, but somehow she was even more bonded to Lucky, who died only eight days before Andrea.
Later in her life, as signs of dementia became apparent, Andrea moved to Frisco, Texas, to live near her daughter Charlotte’s family. As the dementia progressed, Andrea didn’t always remember who her children were, but even when her memory failed her, she was happy to see the friendly people who visited and told her they loved her. Months before her death, all her children gathered in Frisco to spend time with Andrea. On one of their daily visits to Andrea’s memory care facility, her children sat on the porch and sang ‘The Gambler’ by Kenny Rogers to her. (Zachary had sung ‘The Gambler’ in church as a young boy, with much nudging from Andrea, Leslie, and Charlotte.) Andrea smiled and tapped her foot. Afterward, they asked if she was tired and wanted them to leave so she could get some rest. ‘No,’ she said, ‘nothing is more important than seeing my family.’
Andrea is survived by daughter Leslie and her husband Darin; daughter Charlotte Thomas and her husband, Scott Thomas, of Little Elm, Texas; son Zachary Hoskins and his wife Nora Wikoff, of Nottingham, United Kingdom; and granddaughters Sara and Anna Thomas, of Denton, Texas.
A funeral service will be at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, August 21, at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Frisco, Texas, with a visitation beginning at 11:30 AM. A burial / graveside service will be at 1:00 PM on Friday, August 4, at Nettleton Cemetery in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association.