so long old friend, rest well
one of my oldest (he was older than dirt) friends passed away yesterday. he was in his 90's. Andy Anderson PhD.was one of my engineering professors in college, and we became good friends after i moved on.
he was a man of many many talents and occupations, ranging from blowing up bridges for the Canadian army during WWII to finding and exploiting oil fields around the world. he produced hollywood movies, and when it was time for him to slow down, he settled in the Napa valley and took a job teaching at the local college.
he played competitive polo into his 80's, jumped off the Feather River Canyon bridge tethered to a bungee cord for his 75th birthday. he was traveling in russia with his wife and a kgb driver ... of course that's not what they were told he was, but Andy figured it out, when chernobyl occurred, and almost didn't make it back to the US.
his life was full, and even after suffering a big stroke a couple of years ago, his daily pilgrimage to the local coffee shop suffered only a few absences. from being totally wiped out, he fought back to where he was walking with the aid of his famous cane, with the gold inlaid "A" on the handle. as far as i know, he was still legal to drive, and did, right up to the end.
Andy, i don't have enough skills to describe you or your life. but i can say that knowing you enriched mine.
rest well, my friend.
edit for update here's the Napa Register Obituary for Arthur "Andy" Anderson
he was a man of many many talents and occupations, ranging from blowing up bridges for the Canadian army during WWII to finding and exploiting oil fields around the world. he produced hollywood movies, and when it was time for him to slow down, he settled in the Napa valley and took a job teaching at the local college.
he played competitive polo into his 80's, jumped off the Feather River Canyon bridge tethered to a bungee cord for his 75th birthday. he was traveling in russia with his wife and a kgb driver ... of course that's not what they were told he was, but Andy figured it out, when chernobyl occurred, and almost didn't make it back to the US.
his life was full, and even after suffering a big stroke a couple of years ago, his daily pilgrimage to the local coffee shop suffered only a few absences. from being totally wiped out, he fought back to where he was walking with the aid of his famous cane, with the gold inlaid "A" on the handle. as far as i know, he was still legal to drive, and did, right up to the end.
Andy, i don't have enough skills to describe you or your life. but i can say that knowing you enriched mine.
rest well, my friend.
edit for update here's the Napa Register Obituary for Arthur "Andy" Anderson
Labels: Andy Anderson
posted by bothenook at 16:28
3 Comments:
My condolences on the loss of your friend. He sounds like an amazing guy.
thanks Ali, he was that and more. He will be missed. the circle of friends he had that gathered around him when his wife died was amazing, but when he had the stroke, it was even more amazing.
he touched a lot of people's lives, mostly for the good.
hey bothenook...i took classes with Andy from 1986 to 1988...plus lots of time around the table at NVCRC where i used to work. Andy was one of a kind. i'm grateful he was part of our world - what a unique person. i posted a few memories over on the register blog. let me know if you were at NVC in those years - i went to class with a former boat driver who was working down at MI in those days...i'm wondering if bothenook is that selfsame gentleman :)
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