Andrew’s Memorial Service is Sat. May 27, 2017 at 2:00PM, Rose City Park UMC, 5830 NE Alameda St. Portland, OR  Click Here for Directions

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On Mother’s Day, 2017, our precious son Andrew’s life on this earth came to a heartbreaking end.  We welcomed him into our family on April 6th, 1975, in Pocatello, Idaho — this healthy baby with the soft, gentle cry and sweet smile.  The tenderness that was evident in this child on the day of his birth remained with him throughout his life.

Andrew was a happy, enthusiastic child — joyously riding his bikes, washing and shining them, taking them apart, putting them back together, always improving them.  He played T-Ball, baseball, and soccer, eventually becoming the strong goalie who saved his traveling team in a wildly exciting shootout in a Boise tournament.  He BMX bike raced, too, and skateboarded, skied, and worked ski patrol at Pebble Creek near Pocatello.  As a child he attended the Methodist Sunday School.  He attended high school camp at the Methodist Camp Sawtooth high in the mountains of Idaho, where he was deeply moved by the beautiful power of unconditional love.

On his first job, delivering newspapers on bicycle, he was hit by an Idaho Power truck and spent his 13th birthday in the hospital, where the staff gave him presents.  After graduating from Highland H.S. he worked for the Sun Valley Company, living in their dorm.  The next summer he was back in Sun Valley, working for an upscale vegetarian restaurant and camping (against the rules) in secluded backcountry areas where the rent was cheap.  Until, that is, the dark night when something approached his tent, scaring him to death.  It was a ranger, who issued a fine, but Andrew still came out way ahead in the rent department.  Over the years he worked many jobs — auto body shop, waiter, barista, repairman of espresso machines, BML firefighter, and others.

Andrew graduated from Idaho State University with a B.A. in English.  While there he worked at ISU’s library and was chosen as Student Employee of the Year for his ability to instruct classes of students in library usage, getting his name on a plaque and receiving full tuition for the next semester.  From Portland’s Lewis and Clark College of Education and Counseling he earned an M.A. in Language Arts, doing his student teaching at Madison H.S.  He then worked for Outside In, helping young folks learn basic skills for success.

Andrew could be ridiculously funny, and had a special gift for communicting and writing — able to convey deep thoughts with well chosen words.  He was introduced to camping at the age of 4 or 5 at Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho.  He loved that place so much that he treated his own little children to their first camping trip there two summers ago, with Gramma and Grampa, and again the following summer, this time with Esme too.

At the time of his death he was teaching in Portland School District’s Evening Scholars program at Benson H.S., and, due to severe depression, had recently quit his full-time teaching job at Rosemary Anderson Alternative H.S.  Andrew suffered in ways we never knew until later.  Because of that suffering and his innately tender and caring heart, he had that special gift of being able to connect with people, who, each in their own way, have also suffered.  He sincerely wanted to help them become the people they were born to be — to learn to overcome adversity, to grow in self-confidence, to discover their unique gifts and realize their worth, to learn how to help themselves as well as others.

Andrew’s cousin Daniel offered this insight:  “Andrew did not take his life … His illness did.”  How deeply we all miss him:  his father John and mother Judy; his sister Deborah, who tried lovingly and unceasingly to help him in his last days; his aunt and uncle Vicki and Brian; his cousin Peter and all his family; his stepdaughter Esme (14); April, the woman he loved, who brought his two children — Sparrow (6) and Johnny (4) — into this world; the countless friends who experienced his heart and loved him for it; and the students he felt honored to teach.

Dear Andrew, we are so proud of your accomplishments and the beautiful person you were, and feel such pain over the suffering you endured for so many years.  May God welcome you into his loving arms and bless you with the sweetest peace.  And may you continue to share your beautiful smile, words, stories, and heart with everyone up there.  Endless love to you, our irreplaceable son.  You will remain in our hearts and minds always.