Andrea Gleaves September 1, 1985 - May 23, 2023

Our loving sister, aunt, and friend, Andrea Gleaves, age 37, passed away Tuesday May 23, 2023 in Irvine, CA, surrounded by family, following a short and courageous battle with advanced stage cervical cancer. She was a guiding light for her family and leaves a legacy of love and service for all those who knew her.

Andrea was born on September 1, 1985, in Tacoma, Washington. She is the fifth of seven children to Curt Arliss Gleaves and Cindy (Mary Cynthia Beagley) Gleaves. After her parents’ divorce, Andrea moved to Spanish Fork, Utah with her mother and siblings where she grew up playing softball and soccer. She graduated from Spanish Fork High School in 2004 as the Social Sciences Sterling Scholar and president of the Debate Team. Andrea felt the call early to serve others and had a great passion to fight for change beginning in high school. After graduation she attended the University of Southern California where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in History in 2008 with a minor in Political Science. Andrea valued and exemplified the work ethic and resiliency she learned from her mother. She was a fierce advocate and dedicated coworker who fought for social justice and true equality and equity of all marginalized people. This fight began at USC, then took her to Missouri to work for President Obama’s first campaign, then to Washington, DC, and finally to California.

Andrea navigated her professional life with grace, determination, humor, and creativity. She was a women’s rights advocate with expertise in domestic violence, sexual assault, and reproductive rights. Andrea provided extensive training, outreach, and technical assistance to government agencies, community-based organizations, and local victim service providers; rooted in a career that began answering calls at a domestic violence hotline, she was a seasoned coalition builder and organizer in the field. Connecting all eight of the District of Columbia’s universities and colleges together, she helped create the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) to address dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault on college campuses. Andrea also designed and implemented the Domestic Violence Advocate core competency training, piloted NNEDV’s Positively Safe: The Intersection of Domestic Violence and HIV curriculum as a member of the national advisory committee, and served on the steering committee for Futures Without Violence’s National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence. Andrea was promoted to the role of Strategic Partnerships Manager with the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and ran the coalition’s communication efforts, including the annual Spread Love DC campaign for domestic violence awareness month and the coalition’s social media channels. Andrea also served on the Board of the DC Abortion Fund and was a past Chair of the Women’s Information Network (WIN), where she was awarded the Cherished Leader Award in 2014.

During the pandemic in 2020, Andrea made the cross-country move from DC to Pasadena, CA to be closer to family. For the last three years she served as the Communications Manager at Children’s Law Center of California. In her role she advocated for children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned that come under the protection of the Los Angeles, Sacramento, or Placer County Juvenile Dependency Court systems. Throughout her career she had an uncanny ability to connect others to the mission and policy goals of the organizations she was working with in only a way that Andrea could. Her spirit and legacy will continue to inspire her family, friends, and coworkers to honor her memory by continuing her fight for a world free from violence and discrimination.

Andrea loved traveling, beach trips, reading, visiting museums, playing board games, assembling puzzles, and attending MLB baseball games. She was her nieces’ and nephews’ biggest fan, prioritizing their many dance recitals, sporting events, and any other activity they participated in. She was immensely creative with a keen eye for design, and food was a language of love for her. She enjoyed trying new foods and places to eat and baking cookies, cakes, and pastries for family parties, friends, and co-workers. She was the first to provide a quality food or drink recommendation and many followed @andyeatsla as she ate and sipped her way around SoCal. This also included frequent visits to Disneyland and sampling the newest treats offered throughout the park. Andrea was a lover of all things Disney—a lot of birthdays and family time were spent at Disneyland, and when Galaxy’s Edge opened it was a favorite spot. She designated the family motto, “The Force is Strong in Our Family,” and she shared a love of all things Star Wars with her siblings, nieces, and nephews. The world has truly lost a bright shining star in Andrea—we hope that she now shines from above, somewhere near Carrie Fisher.

She is survived by her siblings: Patrick Gleaves (Leslie Makai), Natalie Gleaves, Benjamin Jacob Gleaves, Nicholas Gleaves, Brittney Peay (Jake), and Courtney Sessions (Matt); her nine nieces and nephews, who absolutely adored her and called her Dre Dre: Jalen Lesieli Gleaves, Halle Evelani Gleaves, Tatem Siulua Gleaves, Asher Petuliki Gleaves, Emma Gleaves, Remington Mary Peay, Lucas Grant Sessions, Scarlett Sessions, and Tommy Clark Sessions; and her godson: Connor Mosvick (Nick and Lindsey Bartlett Mosvick).

She was preceded in death by her father, Curt Arliss Gleaves of Portland, Oregon, her mother, Cindy Gleaves of Spanish Fork, Utah, and her grandparents, Grant and Evelyn Caras Beagley of Spanish Fork, Utah. We are comforted at the thought of their happy reunion.

We will celebrate Andrea’s life on Saturday June 10, 2023 at 1:00pm at Walker Funeral Home (187 S Main St, Spanish Fork, UT 84660). Family and friends may call that morning from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm before services. Interment will be in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery where she will be laid to rest with her mother.

Her time on this earth was cut short. In Andrea’s last words on social media she said, “Gynecological cancers are not talked about enough nor researched enough. Please help raise awareness, fund research, and help those who suffer reproductive pain get the help and respect they deserve from the medical profession.” In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Andrea’s name to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition or to the organizations that she dedicated her life to: DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, DC Abortion Fund, CLC of California.

Thank you to those who have donated, shared our campaign, reached out with condolences, and shared memories of Andrea. May the Force be with you and may we always be #Rebels4DreDre