Andrea Jean Gay

Andrea J. “Drea” Gay, 79, of East Syracuse passed away on Sunday, March 8, in Destin, Florida. Born in Mineola, LI, NY, to the late Andrew and Florence (Lambo) McDonald, she was also predeceased by her brother, Andrew McDonald. Following graduation from Oneonta State with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she became a certified secondary English teacher and from 1978 to February 2002 was a NYS Department of Labor Counselor, retiring as Senior Employment Counseling Consultant. With an interest in genealogy, Drea established the company Bird-In-Hand to research missing family members for estates in surrogate courts. She had been a member of the CNY Genealogical Society and is a member of the New England Genealogical Society. Family genealogy led back to the original colonial settlers of Kingstown, RI and many other old New England families. Drea enjoyed gathering with family, especially all of her cousins, and friends, traveling, reading mysteries, jogging and walking. She was a board member of her homeowner’s association. Surviving are her husband since June 14, 1997, C. Richard “Dick” Gay, Jr.; eleven first cousins, Donald Harris, Diane Seymour, John (Nadine) Lambo, Brad (Linda) Lambo, Camille (Charlie) Ruggieri, Pam (Gary) Kientzler, Marge Mack, Phillip (Celeste) Lambo, Christine (Charles) Jennings, Sue (Michael) Cowan, and James (Robert Evans) Lambo.. Also surviving are her brother-in-law, Martin W. (Susan) Gay; nephew-in-law, Martin Clinton Edwards; niece-in-law, Karin (Zach) Benjamin; a great nephew, Colton Kemp; and several former Paikin in-laws who remain family; and many dear friends who were like family to Drea. The family will greet friends on Tuesday, March 17th from 4 to 6 pm at Fergerson Funeral Home, 215 South Main Street, North Syracuse. Funeral services will be Wednesday, March 18th at 10 am at the funeral home followed by burial in Pine Plains Cemetery, Clay. Donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1350 Broadway, Suite 1530, New York, NY 10018 or the Arthritis Foundation, 1355 Peachtree Street, Suite 600, Atlanta, GA 30309.

Tributes

Andrea Jean Gay

March 8, 2026