To all who may read this, I would like to say Andrew, (who was always Andy to me), was a true testament to how God can and will keep His children through the most difficult circumstances and how we as His children should conduct ourselves when we are going through, no matter what the trial. I met Andy when I married his dad, he was a very happy, talkative pre-teen. We bonded right away. Our relationship grew to the point where he could come to me and share lots of interesting conversations. He seemed to know a lot about everything! I made his prom dates gown when he went on prom. I was trusted to keep his prized stereo set when he went to the navy. Andy was my third son. I loved him. I know how to cook brussel sprouts because he shared a secret ingredient and technique to keep them from tasting “bitter”! 😋 . His life was lived to the fullest and during very challenging circumstances he always said “I’m doing fine”! I never EVER heard him complain!!! I admired him and was and am proud of who he was and how he lived his life. God made him, God kept him and now God has him. My life is better because I knew him.

My Journey of love, brotherly love that is, started with a memory at a young age of 8, when my dad said, “Come and meet your brother”. I was looking with this confused look and my dad knew it, but I can say one thing dad always taught us was that no matter half, step, it does not matter, bother is brother. sister is sister. I was a happy kid with an open heart. Andy had a way to capture your heart anyway, He grabbed my little hand and said “Young brother, would you like to see something? He took me outside to show me this baby blue Chevy chevette and said one day this is yours. 42 years later, I told him just recently, I’m still waiting on your promise. Andy just laughed. I still can see him laughing in my mind. If you had known him, that’s all you would see, always smiling without a complaint. I never thought about it until recently, Even though, that small fraction in time of him holding my hand walking me to his prized car from the Navy money he bought, i kinda feel that he actually held my hand through life because if it had not been for him, fate wouldn’t have landed me with my best friend for life, my better half, because I wouldn’t have never started working in dialysis where i met Sonya if he had not been so persistent to come and work where he received treatment. I just thought that was a strange parallel line that he gave me. We often traded movies files that we downloaded. He knew just about every movie out. And his love for music was far advanced than anyone I’ve known. No matter what Artist, Andy knew detail after detail. I don’t know if it’s hereditary but Andy could give you the side-eye and I swear it was my dad reincarnated. Life is uncertain of the time lended. I’m just grateful that we both were able to share it together. When we did call each other, it was never a call under two hours long. We would talk about everything under the sun. You would wonder how we fit so much in those phone conversations. But I could tell that life began taking his strength. My mom said, I pray that God perform a miracle and give him more time. My reply was that miracle has already come. I explained my time in the medical field from 28 years ago, no one was around after 15 years. He was able to bless people with that time almost doubled. He was a big brother to hug forever if I had another wish. My Andy will always be my big brother in my heart for ever more. Amen.