Andrew Emmet Nevin

Andrew Emmet Nevin

Andrew Emmet Nevin was born April 4th, 1939 in Dayton, Ohio USA, the oldest of five children to Robert Andrew Nevin and Virginia Hazel Leland Nevin. He passed away on March 26th, 2022 in Mission, British Columbia, Canada. His life was one of geological adventures, world travel, and stories.
Andy moved with his family from Dayton, OH to Syracuse, NY, in 1949, and then to Fayetteville, NY in 1955. The house in Fayetteville was designed by his Dad, but was entirely unfinished when the family moved in. Many of the walls were just framing. You could see into the upstairs bathrooms from the front door. As a teenager, and for the next 10 years, Andy and his brother helped their Dad complete the home and were expected to spend as much of their free time as could be cajoled, sheet rocking, tiling, grouting, and painting.
Andy graduated from Fayetteville-Manlius Central High School in 1957. He would tell his homeroom teacher he was late because of the bus, until she looked up his address - only a block from the school!
He received a B.Sc. in 1961 in Geophysics from St. Lawrence University, in Canton, NY, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi and was president of the Interfraternity Council. He married Stephanie Gott in August of 1961 and they headed west, to California, where he received his MA in Geology from the University of California in Berkley, CA and then up to Idaho where he received his PhD in Geology, Mining Engineering & Statistics from the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. Andy and Stephie had their first child, a daughter, while he was in Graduate School in Idaho, His next two sons were born three and four years later in Arizona when Andy worked for Phelps Dodge Corporation with copper in Douglas, AZ just a few blocks from the Mexican border. Andy became fluent in Spanish at that time, something that would serve him well in the future.
In 1969, Andy moved his family to North Vancouver, BC, Canada to join a college friend and begin a life long career in mineral exploration. His youngest son was born in Canada. He began his own company, Nevin Consultants, Ltd, mapping copper resources near Port Hardy, BC. He later merged with two other geologists creating Nevin Sadlier Brown Goodbrand (NSBG) Ltd. Andy and his partners were instrumental in discovering and mapping the hot, young Meager Creek System northwest of Pemberton, BC in the 1970s for viability as geothermal energy for BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia. His pioneering work with Geothermal Energy has been recognized nationally by Geothermal Canada.
His consulting work with NSBG began to branch out all over British Columbia, and the United States, specializing in heavy metal explorations, including gold, silver, molybdenum, nickel, zinc along with other metals across Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington State, California (and even Tanzania, Africa).
In 1983 he married his second wife, Jennifer Anderson, and shortly afterward began consulting on his own again. His expertise evolved to include assisting underdeveloped nations explore potential metal deposit resources. He often lived in the countries he was consulting with. These included, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and living for seven years in New Delhi, India consulting on a site in Northern India on the Tibetan border. Even when he was "home" in North America, Andy moved frequently, living in San Francisco and Grass Valley California, Chicago, Illinois, Vancouver, Surrey and finally Mission, BC. He had friends and colleagues around the globe. He was a skilled traveler and very savvy with border crossings.
In addition to being good with languages, and mathematics, Andy was talented musically and a skilled cartoonist. He could pick up any instrument "fiddle around with it" for a bit then recreate songs from the radio. Andy once brought a bagpipe chanter to a mining camp and taught himself to play it one summer using only the "how -to" pamphlet that arrived with the chanter. He was an avid reader and particularly enjoyed historical fiction, and biographies of any kind. He was quick with a long story, had a dry sense of humour, and an easy laugh. His postcards to his children when they were younger always included a cartoon, and sometimes only a cartoon.

Andy was still consulting into his late 70s, when a health condition forced an "early" retirement in 2020, in Mission BC. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 26th 2022.
He is predeceased by his parents, his former wives Stephanie Gott Nevin, Jennifer Anderson Nevin, and his dear sister Hazel Nevin Newton. He is survived by his children, Molly Nevin, of Fairbanks, Alaska, Doug (Zlatica) Nevin of Hanapepe, Hawaii, Mark (April) Nevin of San Francisco, California, and Tom (Lisa) Nevin of Kamloops, British Columbia, as well as his six grandchildren, Taylor, Abe, Mia, Claire, Samuel and Maci, and by his brother Robert Nevin of Fayetteville, NY, and his sisters Ginit Marten of Niskayuna, NY, and Mary Petrie of Cumming, GA.
No funeral services are planned at this time, his family will be gathering later this year to share stories and scatter his ashes in a place that was meaningful to their Dad. For those wishing to engage in something in memory of Andrew Nevin, the family suggests getting outside, going for a hike, looking at rock formations with some wonder about the kinds of treasures that lay within, supporting geothermal energy development, responsible mineral exploration, world travel, dogs, and US college football. He will be missed.