Andrée Robitaille Wood

Andrée Robitaille Wood of Sarasota, Florida and Barrington Hills, Illinois passed away on August 6, 2017 following a long illness. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 10, 1929 to Alice (Fortier) Robitaille and Andre G. Robitaille.

Andrée’s father and the Sisters of St. Casimir Academy in Chicago instilled in her a lifelong love of learning for which she remained deeply grateful. Andrée worked in the media departments of Grant Advertising and McFarland Aveyard for six years after graduating from high school. In 1956, she married Richard L. Wood, her devoted husband of 61 years who survives her. They settled in Barrington Hills, where they raised their five children and created many wonderful memories for their family. In 1969 Andrée began her college education. Following completion of her Associate degree at Harper Community College, Andrée earned a B.A. in anthropology and an M.A. in archeology from Northern Illinois University through which she began a research career at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago and fulfilled a long-held dream of pursuing archeological work in the Middle East. With the late Dr. Tom Loy, Andrée conducted pioneering work in the retrieval and identification of DNA on ancient stone tools. In addition to her husband, Andrée is survived by her children Mary Wood Molo (Steven Molo), Matthew W. Wood (Linda Goodwin Wood), Melissa I. Wood, Elizabeth Wood Wesel, and John A. Wood (Christy Vavloukis), and her 16 grandchildren who brought her great joy and of whom she was very proud: John Alexander, Madeline, Julia, and Allison Molo, Audrey, Benjamin, Oliver, and Rebecca Wood, Noel, Hallie, and Corey Irion, Emma and Jordan Wesel, George, Jane, and Charles Wood. Andrée is also survived by her sister, Elise M. Delaney, and many dear nieces, nephews, and friends.

Andrée was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Irene Robitaille Wikel and Margot Bartnik Bowman.

Her family is deeply grateful to the staff of Rush University Medical Center as well as Traycee Home Care and JourneyCare who provided invaluable support for Andrée and Richard during Andrée’s last weeks. Visitation for Andrée will be held from 5-8pm Thursday, August 10 at Davenport Funeral Home, 149 W. Main St. (Lake-Cook Rd.), Barrington, Illinois. A funeral Mass for Andrée will be held at 11 am on Friday, August 11 at Saint Anne Catholic Community, 120 N. Ela St. (Corner of Franklin and Ela Sts.), Barrington, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1155 E. 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.