Andy
I first met Andy when I moved to Gerrards Cross in 1993. He took me under his wing and the rest is history.
Before today’s service I thought a lot about what Andy meant to me, what I loved about him, I asked others for their thoughts too and I hope many of you will be able to relate to what I say.
His love of nice cars, for many of us, we pass our test, we might be lucky enough to drive mum or dads car and then we get our own car, in my case my first car spent a fair amount of time both on the road and in the garage. But not Andy, Andy bought himself a 1 year old 5 door Volkswagen golf, it even had body coloured bumpers and if I recall a CD player which at that time was a big deal. When he nominated himself to do the annual Lads Holiday to Aberdeen I had a grin from ear to ear knowing we were going to be travelling in style and comfort. As he started his journey in the working world he quickly moved on to BMWs and combined with his very successful career in IT he had a beautiful BMW 5 series. A car my girls loved to explore and Andy being Andy always let them.
His Passion for formula 1, it always amazed me how anyone could watch a whole race from start to finish, let alone get up in the middle of the night to watch it, but Andy did without fail.
His love for music. Andy had a huge selection of music and what a variety it was too. From the Caravan of Love by the Housemartins, to Michael Jackson to some of the best happy hardcore and drum and bass I ever heard! Many of Andys favourites have been compiled by my good friend Luke and will be played this afternoon.
But even with these great memories and many others I haven’t mentioned, I kept coming back to the same thing; how will I and how do all of his closest friends remember him far above everything else? This was easy. It was his huge heart!
Andy was such a great friend to me and to so many others. For those of us I believe to be his closest and oldest friends, many of us have known Andy for nearly 25 years. As we have grown older and some may say wiser and built our independent lives he was the glue that kept the group together, always arranging meets ups, offering to be the designated driver ensuring everyone could attend, he would share stories and poems with all of us that would often bring a huge smile on what would otherwise be just a normal day in the office.
Andy never judged and he never pried. He was always there when you needed him, when you needed a shoulder, he was never anything but a great mate, the best mate! He would move heaven and earth to help a friend, well help anyone for that matter. He always used to spoil my friends and I on a night out, I can only imagine the amount he spent on some occasions but he enjoyed nothing more than bringing happiness to others.
Andy wouldn't say boo to a goose unless it had “beef” with one of his mates and he needed to sort it. (One of his popular phrases, "don't worry I'll sort it".)
Why did Andy have such a successful career, well yes, he was pretty smart, but it was his ability to build relationships with everyone he met, he was compassionate and always wanted to and always would help others.
Over more recent years several little ones were born and became a large part of Andy's life. He was Fantastic with all of them, his nephew and god son Ollie. His god daughter Annabelle, her sisters, Charlotte and I know of many others too.
He loved them without question and they loved him back tenfold.
On a recent visit to see Andy in the hospice, a care worker arrived at his bedside, he instantly recognised her and the opportunity for ice cream, it wasn’t the opportunity for him to have ice cream but for my two girls. At that time, he was struggling to speak more than a few words, but the opportunity to make two little girls very happy overcame everything else he was dealing with. I cannot find the words that do that act of kindness justice. I will cherish moments like that forever.
My final moments with Andy were to introduce him to our new daughter, Elsie, she was born on Monday 13th November and Julia and I were able to introduce her to him the following day. His hand was placed on her little tummy, he gently gave her knee a little stroke, she clenched at this thumb with her little fingers and it was clear to me and everyone around, he knew she was there and the kindness, the caring nature of Andy was there in abundance. Truly truly amazing.
Andy was my Wing man through thick and thin, he was my best friend and an amazing friend to so many people. He was also like a brother to so many of us. I am sure you will all agree, he was an all-round fantastic chap with a huge heart and had a big smile for all us of at every opportunity.
Lynn, Alan and Amy, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the Son, the brother that Andy was. He was and always will be a true credit to you and nothing less than an exceptional human being.
Every time I hear the next big tune, watch a car race or just fancy a chat with my mate, I will think of you with nothing but fond memories. Your legacy will live on in all of those who knew you! My two eldest girls have already identified your star in the night sky and I too will look upon it with fondness and for a little wink when I need you most.
I love you Andy, we all love you Andy and just to have spent the time we did together makes me feel exceptionally privileged.
Andy you may be gone from this earth but you will never never be forgotten.