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Born in Stamford on May 10, 1931, he was the son of Dr. Frank H. D'Andrea and Josephine Carofano D'Andrea. He attended St. John's Parochial Elementary School in Stamford and Fairfield College Preparatory School, graduating in 1948. He graduated from Yale College, Class of 1952, and from the Harvard Law School in 1955.
D'Andrea's legal career spanned more then 50 years, opening his private law practice in 1955. He was a founding partner of D'Andrea & Cacace, which continues as Cacace, Tusch & Santagata.
In 1993, Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. nominated him to be a judge of the Superior Court, and he had served on the bench in Stamford since 1994. Since hitting the mandatory retirement age in 2001, D'Andrea continued to conduct court business in Stamford as a judge trial referee until his death.
D'Andrea was a past president of the Stamford Bar Association and a past president of the Connecticut Bar Association. During his state bar presidency, D'Andrea initiated a state-wide pro bono program that continues today with more than 2,000 Connecticut attorneys taking part.
He was also Corporation Counsel for Stamford in 1969-1971 under Mayor Julius Wilensky; chairman of the Stamford Zoning Board of Appeals in 1964-1968; and a member of the Stamford Board of Education in 1961-1963.
D'Andrea was a former member of the Board of Trustees of Stamford Ferguson Library, Board of Directors of St. Luke's Community Services, the Stamford Symphony, Aid for the Retarded, and the United Way.
He was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Center of Stamford, and a past president. In 1992, he received an award from the Italian Center for his "dedication and contribution to the City of Stamford and its Italian Community."
At Yale, he had been a coxswain on the Lightweight Crew, and served in that capacity for the New York Athletic Club Crew when that boat won the National eight-oared championship in Philadelphia in the early 1950s.
He was also an amateur horseman and was past president of the Greenwich Riding and Trails Association. He was also a former member of the Ox Ridge Hunt Club and of the Stamford Yacht Club.
He is survived by his wife, Melanie Massell D'Andrea; two daughters Mary Jo D'Andrea of Norwalk and Marilyn D'Andrea O'Malley and her husband Brendan of Norwalk; three granddaughters, Melissa and Katherine Wilkes of Hudson, Ohio, and Alison O'Malley of Norwalk. He is also survived by two sisters, Marilyn McLaughlin and husband Maynard McLaughlin) of Shoreham, Vt., and Joan Collins and husband, Dr. Robert Collins of Fort Myers, Fla.
He was predeceased by his daughter Michele Wilkes, of Hudson, Ohio.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, March 13, at St Leo Parish 24 Roxbury Road, Stamford.
Interment will follow at Long Ridge Union Cemetery, Stamford.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Stamford Hospital.
Arrangements were handled by Thomas M Gallagher Funeral Home. No calling hours will be held. To send online condolences to the family, visit www.gallagherfuneralhome.com.
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