Mark W. Andrae

Mark W. Andrae

Mark W. Andrae, age 53, of Erie died unexpectedly on Saturday, November 21, 2020. He was born in Cleveland, OH, on December 2, 1966, the first of six children of Mary (Dee) Loesch Andrae and the late Michael Andrae.

Mark graduated from McDowell High School in 1985 before proudly serving in the U.S. Navy for six years during the Gulf War. After his service Mark returned to Erie to follow in his maternal grandfather's footsteps as a car salesman and had a highly successful career. Mark's large teddy bear stature combined with a fun, boisterous personality and encyclopedic knowledge of cars made him popular with his co-workers and customers.

An avid fisherman since an early age, Mark enjoyed living on Lake Erie where he spent time with family and friends on his fishing boat. He loved the outdoors and nature and was a talented woodcarver. His specialty was wood carvings of Lake Erie fish. Mark also enjoyed a variety of other artistic hobbies including painting, stained glass, and mosaics and he loved to create art with his nieces and nephews.

Mark was a proud father, cherishing time spent boating and fishing with his son, Elijah, while also proudly following the many accomplishments of his daughter, Ashley.

A disabled vet, Mark was always generous with his time and resources in helping fellow disabled veterans, often opening his house to vets in need of temporary housing.

He was loved by many and will be missed by all his family and friends.

In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife Kathleen Pfadt Andrae of Erie; daughter Ashley Gagne (Jason) of Saint Augustine, FL; son Elijah Andrae of Erie; brother Patrick Andrae of Jamesburg, NJ; brother Garrett Andrae (Jenny) of Canonsburg, PA; sister Natalie Burhenn (Daniel) of Erie; brother Philip Andrae of Erie; and brother Evan Andrae (Cheryl) of Meadville, PA. His nieces include Danielle Burhenn, Nora Burhenn, Kennedy Andrae, Maya Andrae, Juliet Andrae, Lennon Andrae, Alexandra (Matthew) Towsend, and Tori Pfadt. His nephews are Nathan Burhenn, Max Andrae, Stephen Andrae, Emmett Andrae, and John Pfadt. His many aunts, uncles, and cousins will miss him dearly.

A masked walk through visitation for family and friends will be held at the John R. Orlando Funeral Home, Inc., 2122 Raspberry Street, on Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. until the time of the funeral service there at 5:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Second Harvest Food Bank,1507 Grimm Dr., Erie, PA 16501 or to the Erie City Mission, 1017 French St., Erie, PA 16501.