Andrea Kjelgaard

It is with great sadness that we announce Andrea Marie Kjelgaard passed away Sunday, January 16th, 2022 after a long bout with a very rare cancer that ultimately took her life. She was surrounded by her loving family and friends and continued to make us laugh until her last breath.

Born November 5, 1976, Andrea grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and got her Bachelors in Nursing from Ursuline College. She spent several years as a travel nurse before settling in Colorado where she met Eric and started her family. In 2019 and 2020, she studied Oncology Esthetics at the School of Botanical and Medical Aesthetics and earned her Esthetician license. She hoped to provide services to cancer patients going through treatment.

Andrea was a nurse through and through, always taking care of everyone she knew. Quick to help a friend or stranger, she had a huge heart and would give you the shirt off her back. She also had an extraordinary knack for making friends and bringing people together. She was the life of the party, quick with a joke, and able to brighten any room with her infectious smile.

She likely had at least one nickname for you and made you laugh more times than you could count. She was incredibly proud of her husband, children, sister, brothers, and in-laws and loved them fiercely.

At one point, she battled breast cancer and Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma at the same time, managing to defeat both and live cancer-free for many years. It’s a testament to her will to live and the enormous strength she carried with her. Andrea was truly one in a million, and the world is dimmer without her in it.

She is survived by her husband, Eric Kjelgaard, two loving children, Conner and Gia; her parents Anthony and Marilyn Cirino; siblings Elaine Perdion and children Ella and Ashley, John (Courtnay) Cirino and children Madelyn and Cecilia, and Anthony (Terese) Cirino; in-laws Harold and Nancy Kjelgaard, and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 27th from 3-7pm at Horan & McConaty, 5303 E. County Line Road (West of Holly St) Centennial, CO 80122. The funeral mass will be Friday, January 28th at 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 8035 S Quebec St, Englewood, CO 80112.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sarcoma Foundation of America at http://www.curesarcoma.org/donate/.