Andrew, 

I recently went through all of my photos looking for a specific picture of our Uncle Harold after he had passed out when we had decorated him with various kitchen utensils, cleaning products, clothes hangers and numerous other household items. While I did find that photo I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of other pictures I had of you and the two of us growing up throughout the years.

I remember changing your diaper which would have been my first but not my last. I cherish all the times I would wrestle and roughhouse with you whenever I saw you.

I am deeply saddened that you left this world way too soon.

Until I see you again, cousin.

Robbie 

As Elyse wrote in her story below, Andrew was always looking to have a good time and to prolong the night. He was always willing to have one more drink, play one more game, or just hang out until the night was over. I have a few examples of this from Atlantic City. The first was from Andrew’s bachelor party. It was the first time I had really hung out with some of Andrew’s friends who didn't go to Colgate. We immediately hit it off and had an incredible weekend. It was as if we had all known each other forever. Without getting into too much detail of what went on that weekend, there was one memorable time where Lavoie was playing slots, and someone yelled "Max bet you *****!" and pulled the lever. When all three bars aligned we couldn't believe it. The machine went off and we ended up winning a large amount of money. I can't remember exactly how much it was, and the amount didn't really matter, the excitement that we had at that moment was what we really enjoyed.

By the end of night the day before we had to leave, we were all exhausted from the weekend and decided to head back to the rooms (which by the way was probably the worst place I have ever stayed in and I am not exaggerating at all. The poor room conditions just added to the experience. If we had stayed in a nicer place we wouldn't have been able to smoke cigars in the rooms and move our furniture to the walkway outside, as we pre-gamed and told stories together, while looking down at the people in the pool below.) When the group went back to the rooms Andrew and David said they were going to stay out a little later. When we woke up, we realized Andrew and David were still not in the rooms. We had to check out of the motel and began calling their phones. It turned out that Andrew and David had stayed up all night gambling in one of the casinos. They still did not want to leave when we called them. I always thought it was cool how David stayed out with his big brother that night. Both of them were just living in the moment, they weren't worried about what they had to do the next day or the entire week for that matter. Neither of them wanted the night to end. I know that this must have meant a lot to Andrew.

Another example was my bachelor party weekend. We stayed in Ocean City, NJ the first night and Atlantic City the second night. I knew from Andrew’s bachelor party that one night was enough haha. Again we all had a blast together in Atlantic City. At the end of the night, probably sometime around 4 or 5am, we stumbled out of the casino to get some fresh air. Andrew immediately says something like “Let’s go back to Bally's and do more shots!” The rest of my friends looked at him like he was crazy and said they weren't sure if they could handle any more. Andrew was having such a good time and wanted me to continue having a good time, that he did not want the night to be over. We ended up going back to Bally's and my friends convinced Andew and I that shots were probably not a good idea, so we finished with a beer instead and talked about all of the things that happened that weekend. The sun was rising by the time we finally left. We called cabs to take us home and chased seagulls on the board walk until they arrived haha.

Both Andrew’s bachelor party and my bachelor party were some of the best nights of my life. I am so happy that I got to share them with Andrew.

One of my favorite stories with Andrew and David are when I went out to eat with their family for Easter brunch my sophomore year at Colgate. I am not sure why, but for some reason our fraternity scheduled our spring formal for Easter weekend. We had a blast, drinking way too much at the open bar, dancing, taking funny pictures, and lots of other craziness. Andrew invited me out to brunch with his family the next day since mine wasn’t going to be there. I always enjoyed spending time with Andrew's wonderful family. His dad, mom, and brother were always so nice to me and were genuinely interested in how I was doing. I could also tell how proud of Andrew they were. Through their stories of his childhood and college experiences, it was very clear that they were proud parents. Seeing how close and happy they were as a family always made me smile.

Because we were up so late the night of formal, Andrew and I didn’t wake up until right before his family got there. We met by the elevators and both had put on the same dirty clothes from the night before. At that time I don’t think Andrew or I owned very many dress clothes, as we didn’t need many besides going to formal once a semester haha. Obviously neither of showered as well, so we both reeked of alcohol. What was hilarious was when we got in the car with his family, the first thing David said to Andrew was, “You look like shit”. We all started cracking up. Andrew’s clothes had taken a bigger toll than mine the night before. He had a huge rip in his khaki pants and stains on his shirt (which may or may not have been from drinking wine out of the bag on the bus ride to formal). I have thought about this story so many times since then and laugh every time.

This was just a few months ago, September 2014. We all had so much fun celebrating Lauren and Eric's wedding. Katie was busy looking beautiful as a bridesmaid, which gave Sarah and I a chance to catch up with Andrew. I was especially grateful to be together with my friends who I hadn't seen in almost 2 years. I was glad although not surprised to feel like nothing had changed between all of us. At the end of the night it was just Kate, Andrew and I hanging out in there hotel room. Andrew always wanted everyone around him to be having a good time, and was always the one wanting to share a last beer with you or have one more drink, one more game, one more round before the party was over. He just genuinely enjoyed the company of everyone around him and didn't want to see it end. This had been the longest time in the history of mine and Katie's friendship that we had not seen each other, me having moved to Arizona and started school and Katie and Andrew having moved to North Carolina. Needless to say we had a lot of catching up to do. Over a few end-of-the-night drinks, Katie was asking me all about my new relationship and wanting to hear about Matt, how we had met and how we were doing now. Rather than just putting up and enduring our girl talk, Andrew was right there in the conversation asking me questions too. Not just to be nice, but he genuinely wanted to hear about my life and I could tell was protective and wanted to make sure the man in my life was right for me. I remember even the next morning feeling very blessed to have such good lifelong friends that truly cared about each other. This is just one small example of many of how Andrew was a such a devoted and loyal friend.

I have a string of facebook messages between Andrew and I from June 2007. This was the summer after he and Katie had first met, and I am not even sure if they were "officially" dating yet (Kate would have to remind me of the details). Either way, I knew at the time that he really liked Katie and was super excited to have met her. The messages were Andrew and I planning for him to come down one weekend and surprise Katie for a visit. He got the idea when Katie casually mentioned on the phone that her parents were going to be away that weekend (sorry Mr. Van Cleve ;) ). Sarah helped me coordinate for Katie to be home on Friday night so she could be there when Andrew arrived and surprise her. I will have to ask Katie about any other details from the surprise, but I do know this was the time when the last Harry Potter book was coming out.....my messages to Andrew mention that I was glad he was going to be here, so Katie could drag him to the bookstore at midnight instead of me ;). We also joked about Katie getting Andrew to wear a Harry Potter cape to the bookstore and put a lightning tattoo on his forehead while he was asleep. I could tell just from these small details that he appreciated Katie's awesome quirks and that he was a perfect match for her! I have some pictures from several years later of all the Philly crew playing flip cup at the Reynolds' shore rental....all of us alternately wearing Katie's infamous Harry Potter "invisibility cloak."

One summer (I can't remember exactly...2007 or 2008?) Andrew, Katie and I all went skydiving. Kate and I had always wanted to go, and had bought passes and planned to go one weekend. Andrew ended up being in town to visit Katie, and so he got to come along too! None of us had ever been before. We couldn't all 3 go in the same plane, so I went in the first plane with some people we didn't know. I remember Andrew saying that he could hear me screaming all the way down before he could even see me parachuting. Katie and Andrew went next and I got to watch them both come down. I think all three of us had an adrenaline rush that lasted for days!!

I had the pleasure of working as a janitor with Andrew during the summer after our senior year of high school.  Andrew the Janitor is not what comes to mind when you remember his intelligence, wit, and aptitude, but that was indeed a title he once had.  The jokes and laughs we shared during that summer of menial and mind-numbing work will remain with me forever.  And even in this setting, Andrew’s intelligence and love for his family were evident.  As we helped to construct nets and goals for different Geneseo sports teams, Andrew taught me how to tie different knots that he had learned from his grandfather.  And as we cleaned and organized throughout the school, which was how much of our time was spent that summer, Andrew shared stories of him doing the same work on his father’s rental properties.

Another memory is when a group of our friends were hanging out at Andrew’s house on the lake.  Somehow, we learned that one of our favorite ska bands, Catch 22, would be playing in Rochester in an hour at a venue we had never heard of.  We quickly planned a trip, got organized and sped away to Rochester in the Long mini-van to make it on time.  We thought we were late but when we got to the venue, the opening band was still playing.  However, after the opening band kept playing and playing, one of us asked when Catch 22 would be taking the stage.  To our surprise, we were currently watching an 80’s cover band named Catch 22.  

As I remember Andrew during this impossibly sad time, I am always left smiling.  The jokes, laughs, and fun experiences we’ve shared will remain with me forever.

One of the most amazing things about Andrew was his warm personality.  He had a wonderful way of making you feel like he couldn’t be happier that you were there hanging out with him and that he truly enjoyed your company.  You could feel it in his smile, his hug (I loved his hugs), and just his genuine happiness.  I first met Andrew when I began dating Bryan his Junior year at Colgate.  They were roommates at the Theta Chi house and Andrew was dating Katie.  I did not go to Colgate and would visit from Towson, MD.  As someone coming in that didn’t know anyone but Bryan, Andrew and Katie immediately made me feel so welcome.  This always meant the world to me. Bryan’s friends soon became great friends of mine too and I would always look forward to hanging out at the fraternity parties, formals, the Jug, slices, etc. 

I would also look forward to the times we would visit Andrew and Katie at Katie’s parents house in Pasadena.  Bryan and I have had such wonderful memories there hanging out with everyone, swimming in the pool, going out on the boat, swimming at Dobbin’s island, watching fireworks, playing ‘civil war’, ‘kings’, and '7 11 Doubles', staying up late and just enjoying everyone’s company.  Andrew and Katie knew how to have a good time no matter what we were doing and truly enjoyed the people they were with.  These times were some of the best times of my life and I am forever grateful. 

Andrew, you will truly be missed. I loved seeing how happy Bryan was hanging out with you and you and Katie made me so happy too.  I am a better person having had you in my life. 

One of my favorite things about Andrew was his joyful laugh. Whenever he told a joke or a story, whether I was a part of it or not, once he started laughing I would begin laughing as well. I have shared so many good laughs and memories with Andrew. Two that I will always cherish are listening to My Life Be Like (Ooh Ahh) by GRITS and hitting every front cup in beer pong.

Andrew and I lived together in the Theta Chi fraternity house our junior year of college. At some point we found out that Katie did not like the song My Life Be Like (Ooh Ahh). It is not that she hated it, but just found it annoying. So what did we do, of course we played it every chance we could. We would play it over the speakers throughout the house during parties, before we went to bed, first thing in the morning. This continued throughout the rest of the year, then senior year, and after college. Once we got smart phones we played it even more. Every time we would get so excited looking at each other and then look to see Katie’s reaction, which was always the same. She would smile, laugh a little bit, and shake her head at us. She would pretend to not give us too much of a reaction but I know that all three of us got so much enjoyment out of it.

Another great memory we shared together was an epic game of beer pong in the tube room basement of Theta Chi. It started out as a normal game. Andrew and I playing together against Katie and one of her friends. At some point early in the game, Andrew and I noticed that we had been hitting only the front most cups. So we talked about it and decided to try to keep it going. Each cup we hit we got more and more excited, one step closer to doing it. When we won we could hardly control ourselves with excitement. We ran over to the other side of the table and asked Katie if she realized what just happened. She said “no” and then we both yelled “We just hit every front cup! Every front Cup!” We then asked if she was impressed. When she said that she wasn’t and that we were being silly for getting so excited about this, we continued telling her that she must not have understood what just happened because if she did then she would be impressed. She kept telling us that she understood what we did and still was not impressed. This went on all night and became an inside joke that we continued to bring up many times after.

I don’t think there was a single time that I saw Andrew since graduation when we did not play the My Life Be Like (Ooh Ahh) song for Katie or bring up the story of every front cup. This includes her MD house, their wedding, my wedding, Colgate reunion, and other gatherings.  I would even laugh to myself and get enjoyment out of it before going to meet up with them, just knowing that I would be laughing with them about it soon. These simple, yet very special memories will be with me forever, and I feel lucky to have shared them with Andrew and Katie.

Andrew and Katie, along with some other Colgate friends, came to visit me in Rhode Island one summer after college. We all wound up on the beach at night and decided to take advantage of the clear weather to do some stargazing.

Andrew and I had taken an astronomy class together at Colgate senior year, so we tried to put our rusty knowledge to work and educate the rest of the group. We managed to point out, Andrew much more accurately than I, some planets, constellations and other heavenly bodies. We also attempted to find satellites in the night sky. A satellite can sometimes look an awful lot like an airplane (even to those with an introductory astronomy course or two under their belt), and vice versa, so identifying a moving light as one or the other became increasingly contentious.

During our satellite search, Andrew started singing and somehow managed to get both "Airplanes" by B.o.B ("Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?") and "Satellite" by Dave Matthews Band ("Satellite in my eyes / Like a diamond in the sky / How I wonder...") stuck in everyone's head. I found myself humming both tunes for a solid week afterward, and have since always thought of him when I hear either. 

Hearing those songs will always remind me of Andrew's love of science and learning and his ability to inject humor into any situation. 

I don't think there was a day that went by that I didn't ask Andrew: "How do you know that?" or "How are you so smart?"  He always had an answer to everything and was a great problem solver at work.  I was also always happy to have him on our Monday night trivia team because we usually did horrible without him, he knew so much about everything.

Our friends and I planned for this camping trip for almost a month, even though we would only be 20 mins from our houses.  We learned from this trip that we brought wayyy too much stuff for camping for 1 weekend.  The weather was perfect and we brought our dogs and everyone had a great time.  Andrew had the idea to dig the seating area out around the fire pit, which was awesome because we spent all of our time there sitting around the fire, laughing, drinking, and listening to music.  I think I took this picture right after he finished digging and he was enjoying a celebratory beer.  Andrew was a kind, easy going guy who would do anything for me and I would him. Both of us traveled a lot so I would take care of his dog and he would take care of my dogs. I feel very fortunate to have had him as my friend.