11/07/2024
Today would have been my mother Catherine Mazzu Andel’s 86th birthday. How I wish she were here so I could wrap my arms around her and tell her, just one more time, how much she meant to me. My mother was everything. Her only motivation, her very reason for being, was her family. She poured her entire heart and soul into loving, nurturing, and protecting us, never asking for anything in return but the joy of seeing us happy.
Born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, Mom’s story is one of love, resilience, and unbreakable devotion. She met my father, Daniel, at a wedding in East Bernard, Texas. From that moment, they were inseparable. They married in August 1957 and honeymooned at the Galvez in Galveston, where they discovered their love for Surfside Beach, a place that would become a cornerstone of our lives.
After raising three girls in Houston, we moved to Austin in 1965, and my brother was born in 1966. Austin is where my parents grew Andel Electric from nothing—a tiny shop in our yard on Congress Avenue—to one of Austin’s most trusted electrical contractors, building places like the Lakeway World of Tennis and the Austin Coliseum. When they were awarded a contract with DOW Chemical in 1976, we moved to Surfside Beach, and my mother finally found herself at home, immersed in a community she adored.
Mom was more than a mother. She was a leader, a pioneer, and a fierce advocate for our town. She worked with Brannan Realty in property management, served as Surfside’s tourism director, and was honored to join the Governor’s Committee for the Beautification of Texas. But in 1992, when she opened Beach Resort Services, her heart was truly at peace. This wasn’t just a business to her—it was her way of sharing the love she felt for Surfside with everyone who visited. Many of you know how tirelessly she worked, making sure families felt the same love for this community as we did. Each of us had the joy of working beside her, learning from her, and witnessing her unshakable commitment and kindness firsthand.
In the years to follow, she built what we jokingly called “the compound” in Clute, with her children and grandchildren living on each side of her. She lived surrounded by the family she had dedicated her life to, and I am endlessly grateful she could spend her days that way. Her love was—and continues to be—the foundation of our lives. Even as she battled stage 4 colon cancer, diagnosed in February 2017, her strength, grace, and love never wavered. She left us in January 2018, and my father joined her in 2020. Together now, they watch over us, their legacy living on in the lives of her 4 children, 10 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.
Mom, I miss you with every breath. You gave us the world. You were, and will always be, the strongest, most selfless woman I have ever known. We are all blessed beyond measure to be yours. Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you more than words can say, and I carry you with me in every moment.
Cynthia Andel Laird Andrea Reutzel Regina Andel Amy Payne Emily Walker Grace Reutzel, Broker - Land Shore Realty Group Drew Newville Adriane Newville Katelin Andel Daniel Andel
