Andrea Ross

GUY SPRUNG

Coffee-shop employee, writer. Born June 30, 1975, in Kingston, Ont. Died Aug, 27, 2004, in Montreal, by her own hand,aged 29.Tiny, tattooed, with multi-coloured, streaked hair and enough moxie to be the punk-rock Queen of Montreal, Andrea Ross was an icon at Navarino's, the Greek pastry and coffee shop on Montreal's Park Avenue, where she worked. But the smile with which she served up café au lait in the morning successfully belied the pain life was causing her. A former heroin addict who had briefly financed her habit by working the streets, Andrea had somehow found the strength to break her dependency and had recently successfully completed methadone treatment. She'd become a trusted employee at Navarino's, where the coffee is good, the working conditions great and the early-morning community clientele is varied and entertaining. She was talking about making management.