Diana Andrews, 42, Shoreline Activist

The best way to illustrate how people felt about Diana Andrews is to relate what occurred on Christmas Day.

Mrs. Andrews, a Shoreline resident, was home briefly from University Hospital. She had been battling lung disorders that had emerged several years earlier. She underwent a lung transplant in July.

Larry French, a friend, called Mrs. Andrews' husband, David, wondering whether it would be all right to get a "few friends" together for some caroling at the Andrews home Christmas Day.

But the number of people who wanted to cheer up Mrs. Andrews kept growing. At 1 p.m. 230 people, accompanied by vehicles from the Shoreline Fire Department, came walking down the street to the Andrews household on 11th Avenue Northeast.

"It was amazing," said David Andrews, a Fire Department lieutenant. The crowd included soccer players, soccer parents, Fire Department personnel and school people.

"They stood in our front yard and sang for an hour," Andrews said. "It was extremely touching, and it really overwhelmed our kids to see what their mom meant to the community."

Another friend, Mary Kay French, was one of the carolers.

"As families, it was the nicest Christmas we had experienced with our kids," she said. "Everyone took time from a family day just to go out there and give her all the love we can. It probably was the best medicine she could have had at that point."

Early Monday morning Mrs. Andrews, 42, whose life exemplified

community involvement, especially with youth-soccer programs, and love of children, lost her battle with lung diseases and died at University Hospital.

Another measure of Mrs. Andrews' life is the way people rallied to help pay some of her medical bills. French said $60,000 was raised in the past year for the Diana Andrews Fund, much of it from individual contributions of $5 to $20.

"Everyone really rallied," French said, for someone who was well-known and well-loved. "It was a really good experience being part of this. It teaches you a lot of things and makes you appreciate what you have."

Mrs. Andrews worked for years in the Shorelake Youth Soccer Association, coaching teams, running soccer clinics, and coordinating soccer fields and referees for the district. She did the same for Seattle Youth Soccer.

Her lung problems didn't keep her from helping at last July's four-day Shorelake Soccer Tournament that attracted 110 teams. She was there all four days even with her "Star Wars" backpack, a 15-pound device that fed her oxygen through her nose. It carried the sign: "Recycle yourself, be an organ donor."

Mrs. Andrews was keeping stats and helping people, and she worked as many hours as many of the volunteers, French said. She even coached soccer with her oxygen pack, but she sat in a lawn chair instead of running on the sidelines, friends said.

Mrs. Andrews didn't let her illness slow her down much, said her sister, Mary Underland. "She didn't want to go into a cocoon. She gave until the very last minute."

She volunteered for everything from Brownies and Scout troops to the soccer activities and helping with the Shoreline Fire Department's Christmas programs, said another friend, Judy Smith.

Mrs. Andrews was given the Earl Woodford Award in June in recognition of her work for the Christmas programs. In 1990 she was named Shoreliner of the Year by the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce. She also had received three Golden Acorn Awards from three different PTAs.

Last year Mrs. Andrews was nominated for one of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Jefferson Awards "for changing the lives of hundreds of children and countless families through her 20 years of volunteer service."

"There are never enough people like Diana," said Smith. "We'll miss her greatly. Our children will miss her."

Besides her husband, David, Mrs. Andrews is survived by her sons, Benje and Martin; mother, Ruth Bidon of Woodinville; sisters, Mary Underland of Bothell, Barbara Heald of Monroe and LeNore Ednie of Seattle; and brothers, James Bidon, Edward Bidon and Michael Bidon of Kent, Robert Bidon of Cannon Falls, Minn., and Mark Bidon of Monroe.

Services will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Mark's Catholic Church, 18033 15th Pl. N.E. in Shoreline, and Mrs. Andrews had requested that people wear sport jerseys and soccer uniforms if possible.

Remembrances are suggested to the Shoreline Aid Car Fund, 1016 N. 175th St., Seattle, WA 98133; the American Lung Association of Washington, 2625 Third Ave., Seattle, WA 98121; or the Lung Transplant Program at the University of Washington Medical Center, Mail Stop SA25, Seattle, WA 98195.