Andrew Laurence Meyers

1953 - 2014

Andrew Laurence Meyers

Andrew Laurence Meyers (a.k.a. Andy, Drew, Baka) was born in 1953 in Seattle, and died this past week of cancer, in his home, in the company of family and friends.

Andrew attended Bothell and Inglemoor high schools, and went to college at Evergreen State and Fairhaven. He joined the ACLU while in high school, and was the youngest person on the Washington Affiliate Academic Freedom Committee.

He worked to ensure his actions and words agreed with his beliefs and values. He had an atlas in his head, and was always adding to his deep collection of facts (he killed on a trivia team). His intelligent and quirky sense of humor was appreciated by many; he would laugh in his cool Muttley-like way while watching cartoons with his granddaughter, liked nothing better than conversing and joking with relatives and friends.

Just some of Andrew's passions: nonfiction, current events, justice-for-all, feats of engineering, comic strips, travel, and MUSIC...he was self-taught on keyboards and other instruments, loved the Doors and Zappa, played in the locally infamous band Independent Press in high school, and enjoyed making and experiencing music all his life. His epic 50th birthday party involved gathering all his family and friends to make music together. He also loved to express himself in writing, and produced several as yet unpublished novels that follow a set of characters from high school to adulthood.

In the '70s Andrew set type and did archival work for the underground newspaper Northwest Passage in Bellingham, then wrote theater reviews and served as a pop-rock-jazz music critic for the Everett Herald, receiving hate mail for one review of Neil Diamond. In the early '80s he produced commercials and golf tournaments for TV (although he never played a round of golf).

From youth Andrew and his brothers were taught the master carpenter trade by their father, and in the mid '80s Andrew happily departed the remote fringes of showbiz to run a construction contracting business with Andy Sr.

In '87 Andrew decided to send a Christmas card to reconnect with Susan Gollofon, and a year or so later they realized their souls were in tune on the deepest level and they wed, as they'd been destined to do since first running into each other in Miss Slichter's 7th grade drama class. Andrew always said how honored he was to be accepted and loved as a father by Elizabeth, his daughter by marriage and in his heart for over 25 years. He was a loving and thoughtful husband, father and grandfather.

After working in construction for many years, building his family a home, and designing and realizing in wood and concrete everything from model train tracks around a ceiling to a stair maze on a vertical beach access, Andrew switched gears to become a facilities manager at a couple different school districts. Most recently he worked as a custodial supervisor. People-managing energized him; he cared about and was interested in the many diverse people who worked with him.

Just before experiencing his first cancer symptoms at the end of this past summer, Andrew and his wife, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter had a crazy-good blast in Europe, and visited among other places the Rysum area of Ostfriesland, turf of the Meyers ancestors before they immigrated to the U.S.

Andrew shared with his mother an interest in that smallish window on a life, the obituary. A faithful reader of the Seattle Times obits, he wanted his own obituary to say that he never injured anyone in any way intentionally (Neil Diamond notwithstanding); he thought being a decent, honest human being was anyone's most important accomplishment.

Andrew is preceded in death by father Andrew L. Meyers (Sr.). He is survived by mother Lois Meyers-Carter; wife Susan; daughter Elizabeth, son-in-law Darren and granddaughter Alex Brumfield; sister Jeanie Thoman (Jim), brothers Dennis (Tammie) and Robert (Kelley); dear aunts, uncle, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, friends. We trust gentle Andrew has gone where great souls go in peace, knowing he left a bottomless, inspirational reservoir of love for us to draw from.

Remembrance donations can be made to Edmonds Music4Life, or to the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Or go hear some music.