Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

April 20, 2024

CHARLOTTE – Andrea "Andie" McElroy Boswell, 58, died on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at home after a courageous three-year battle with ovarian cancer.  She was born on October 12, 1965, in Lake Forest, IL to Norton McElroy and Joan McCafferty McElroy.

Andrea attended Lake Forest High School and later graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science.  Iowa City is where she met many of her longtime best friends and became a lifelong Hawkeye.

After graduation she returned to Chicago to work for the Marriott Corporation which then took her to New England.  Her corporate career was interrupted by an adventure living and working on an olive farm in Tuscany.  While in Italy she was constantly in search of ice.  Finally exasperated, she returned to the States moving to Portland, Maine to work for the Maine Bankers Association.  There she found an abundance of ice! Andrea moved to Charlotte in 2007 joining the team at Handpicked where she mentored many of the young women who worked in the stores.  She soon after met her husband, Stewart Boswell. 

To say Andrea was a sports girl is an understatement.  From childhood days with her father at Marquette basketball games to Bulls games at the United Center in the Jordan era and onto the highs and lows of the Carolina Panthers she was steadfast...her calls were right and the officials...not so much.  Many a football fan has made the mistake of trying to debate her about a "cover two" pass coverage.  Once in Charlotte, her sports passion became tennis at Quail Hollow Club.  She found joy in the sport and loved the Ladies team - the fun, friends, competition, and the drama.  Her "Quail Girls" have been her lifeblood these last few years.

Andrea loved the theater.  She acted in many plays while in school and even appeared as an extra in the film "Ordinary People" which was filmed at her school and in her neighborhood.  Often accused of being a "drama queen" her real preference was a musical.  She also loved to read and was most interested in memoirs as she admired the courage it takes to share one’s deepest emotions with the world.

Andrea was a member of Myers Park United Methodist Church, where she found solace and community and pre-pandemic was a Stephen Minister.

Andrea is survived by her husband, Stewart McCleary Boswell; her mother, Joan McCafferty McCrory; sister, Kimberly McElroy and her husband, John Froeb; stepson, James Boswell and his wife, Sarah Gay; stepdaughter, Lucy Boswell and her husband, James Frankel; four grandchildren, Field, Henry, Mac and Frances Boswell who knew and loved her as “Grandie.  Also surviving are her two nephews, Brian and Sean Froeb.  She was preceded in death by her father, Norton McElroy and a stepson, Saxon Boswell.

Her family extends their deepest gratitude to her primary physician, Michael Johnson; her oncologist, Erin Crane, and all the physicians and staff at the Levine Cancer Institute and VIA Health Partners for their support of Andie on her cancer journey.

A memorial service to celebrate Andrea’s life will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at Myers Park United Methodist Church.  The family will receive friends following the service at the church.  The service will be livestreamed at:  https://myersparkumc.org/worship-with-us/funerals/ for those unable to attend in person.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Charlotte, 1348 Parker Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208 (https://humanesocietyofcharlotte.org/) or Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC 28207 (https://myersparkumc.org/) or Roof Above, Attn: Philanthropy Office, PO Box 31335, Charlotte, NC 28231 (https://www.roofabove.org/donate/) or the charity of one's choice.

May she rest in peace, and may her memory be a blessing to all who knew her.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.