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Andrew Ryder Obituary
Born on May 17, 1955, in Haresfield, Gloucestershire, England, Andrew embarked on a life marked by curiosity, creativity, and an enduring passion for learning. He moved to the United States as a teenager, after living in England, Singapore, Germany, France, and Canada.
He graduated from Hilltop High School in the Class of 1972, and later attended the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where he continued to cultivate his wide-ranging interests and talents. He ultimately became a Technologist for CP Kelco, where he played a key role in establishing the company's plant in China.
Andy was a true Renaissance man-smart, creative, and endlessly talented. His pursuits were as varied as they were unique; from throwing clay and binding books to "underwater BB stacking", he approached each endeavor with enthusiasm and ingenuity. Those who knew him admired not only his intellect but also his ability to find joy and humor in the most unexpected places.
He is survived by his children, who share their father's sense of wonder and curiosity, Colin (Jessie) and Carlisle (Christian) and their mother Sherry. He was happy to know his son was going to become a father himself, Andy's first grandson is expected in June. He also leaves behind his beloved mother Doreen; sisters Elizabeth (Mark) and Kathryn (John); and many others whose lives were enriched by knowing him. Andy was predeceased by his father, John.
No services are planned. By his request, his ashes will be placed with those of his father in England.
May his memory bring comfort to those who knew him and inspiration to all who celebrate a life lived with such vibrant originality.
www.legacy.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Rick Green
July 9, 2025
August 2023, Barrio Logan lunch
Robyn Wallace
July 7, 2025
I don´t know where to begin ... or end. So, I´m just going to ramble and try to give you a glimpse into life with this extraordinary person.
I met Andrew when I was 25, just out of college and starting my first real job in a lab at Kelco. I didn´t meet Andrew right away ... he was this mysterious person working the graveyard shift. In the lab at Kelco, each Technician had a unique stamp for the shift logbook, to denote their entries. (No simply using their initials for this lab!) Andrew´s stamp looked like Alice´s Cheshire cat. My first indication of Andrew´s presence were the cats that he (somehow) managed to weave into the lines of the logbook in ever-creative ways (e.g. as if coming out of a window blind).
Andrew continued to work graveyard for years. Colin and Carlisle (Andrew´s kids) even called him a "bat." He met some of the recurring "characters" in his life during this time at Kelco. (Enter Tommy H.!) Further indication of Andrew´s creativity were the pranks pulled on other Technicians, including a fish tank installed in a locker (!) and somehow filling a locker with packing peanuts (which was, even more hilariously, opened by the supervisor who would routinely go through people´s lockers).
Andrew and I eventually bought "The Trickle" in Jamul. Ten acres and a double-wide mobile home with a sunroom attachment! I determined it would be temporary (it was not) until the "real" house was built. It started out in a French Country style that Andrew´s kids (Colin and Carlisle) helped paint. And, once every five years or so, water would actually run through the property. The Trickle became the site of many of Andrew´s creations. We had nine cats over the years and an incorrigible dog (Cory). Cory was rescued after being hit be a car near Kelco (by a car driven by a Kelco employee). You can´t appreciate The Trickle until you´ve had to evacuate due to wild fires and stay in a hotel room with five cats.
Andrew is the only person I´ve known who could write fiction, do math (including working on a secret math problem - Riemann Hypothesis? Goldbach´s Conjecture? I was not allowed to speak the name for fear of the government swooping in and stealing his work), woodworker, welder, potter (with clay from the Trickle), creator of gadgets (e.g. he made a bacterial culture age calculator for the Technicians, out of autoclave paper and a rubber stopper), artist, jewelry-maker, yarn-maker (out of our cats´ fur), programmer (he programed his sister´s family computer to require that they solve a riddle as the login password (you had to expect these things when Andrew house-sat for you).
There were never enough hours in the day for Andrew. While he was able to use his talents at Kelco, I still think he should have been born in a time where geniuses had patrons and lived in hermitages, so he could have let his considerable imagination come full rein. He was always about the journey, not the destination.
None of us were ready for the journey to end.
Robyn Wallace
June 25, 2025
Just Andrew being Andrew :)
Robyn Wallace
June 25, 2025
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Sherry
June 22, 2025
Good times camping with good friends. Andy, Sherry, Tim, and Jim.
Sherry Cummins
June 10, 2025
A few pictures over the years
Rick Green
June 9, 2025
The obituary captured it well, as he was truly a Renaissance man, brilliant, wickedly clever, well read, humorous, always good natured and a friend you could count on. I met Andy when we both worked at the Kelco, and we immediately realized we had common interests in science, music, literature, movies and comedy. We could talk for hours about Monty Python, the Prisoner, The Avengers (not the Marvel ones, but the spy TV show with Mrs. Peel and John Steed), Dr. Who, and other iconic British contributions to culture.
We had many outdoor adventures, exploring the caves of Pt Loma and La Jolla, the abandoned military bunkers on Mt Soledad, and the canyons of UCSD, where former roads were abandoned and left to natures eventual return. I still regret I was unable to join the epic Nepal journey, but his recounting the tales made it almost like being there. We paraglided at Black Mountain, and when Andy landed, Colin proclaimed "Daddy not die!"
When Horton Plaza opened, we would meet after Andy´s graveyard shift at local breakfast places, and then attend the first matinees for shows like the first Batman or Jurassic Park. We also attended many foreign film festivals at the Ken, and would haunt the Kensington coffee shop, imbibing (his favorite term) coffee and cheesecake brownies. I remember taking Colin with us to Café Crema in PB, and supercharging him with sugar before he was returned to Sherry. I remember the many times we went to "Artwalk," and would try to outdo each other in ludicrous reviews of the exhibits.
It´s so hard to accept that we will never experience that clever banter and good times again, but the times we did have will always be among my best memories. He made the world a better place with his friendship, wit and humor, and he will always be missed and remembered.
Stefan Kammerer
June 8, 2025
Dear Andrew,
I hope you´re doing well, wherever you might be. I miss you incredibly much. I loved how easy you were to talk to, always loving and kind, always helpful when needed. I wished you were given more time after your retirement to do all the things you loved to do. I would like to go have dinner with you as we used to do sometimes. Or be on the phone with you for hours, talking about movies and TV shows - like British and Nordic Noir crime shows which were both of our favorites.
I just miss you, my friend. Rest well.
Tim Downey
June 2, 2025
Andy Ryder. Genius. Polymath. Dreamer.
Andy was a big part of my life beginning not long after his arrival in Southern California, where we were in the same grade at our middle school. We spent much time together until a couple of years after high school, then intermittently for a few years. Along with other members of our cohort, we lunched together every day at school. I was a regular fixture at his house. HIs parents became my parents. I had a crush on his younger sister Elizabeth.
Oh the stories! We were young and adventurous. A book could be written about our adventures and misadventures. Another volume could be filled with examples of the gifts Andy possessed.
Our lives converged, intertwined, then separated and grew apart. I cherish the years of being close to the intricate Andy Ryder.
Clay Perdue
May 31, 2025
As a high school classmate of Andy for 3 years, I sat eating lunch most every day with him and our other friends. Even in our motley group, Andy stood out because he was an independent, unconventional thinker. His versatile mind was wide-ranging in its interest in science, mechanics, psychology and the arts. A conversation with him was hardly boring, especially since he had a dry sense of humor and loved to laugh. And he had a winning smile, didn't he?
With high school graduation our lives changed and we saw each other less frequently. One time we bumped into each other when we both happened to be with our girlfriends. To my shock the two women already knew each other and were friends. Laughs, stories and smiles ensued-- a wonderful memory.
The last time I saw Andy was shortly before I moved to the East Coast. Most of the old lunch mates got together one evening to reminisce and get caught up. Andy was just as I remembered him: big friendly smile, fun, interesting, modest. Another great memory, but, oh, how I wish there had been more...
Ray Ashley
May 31, 2025
We always beguile ourselves that time will be kind enough to let us get back in touch with old friends and relive memories, but then it never is. I would have liked to tell Andy how much I enjoyed our friendship and his endless enthusiastic curiosity about everything, and what fun we had on adventures we shared so long ago. Fair winds!
Kim Brogan
May 30, 2025
I remember a young man of 18ish who took time out of his day to show me how to give my Maverick, 3 on the column, a tune-up. You showed great patience with my obvious lack of understanding of how a six cylinder engine works. I also remember a midnight trek to the park by my house with several friends where you put me on your shoulder and ran the bases on the baseball field while I screamed and laughed. Thank you for the working pen knife that you carved for me, I still have it. It amazes everyone that sees it. You were one of a kind and I am grateful that you were in my life at a time when I needed friends that made me laugh.
sharon cummins
May 30, 2025
Andy,
I´m sorry you didn´t have more time, but am so thankful for the life and adventures that we shared. Endless hours drinking coffee at Daisy´s, Denny´s, or Jimmy´s and arguing about whether a person could walk through a wall, given that it is theoretically possible for all the space between the person and the wall to line up perfectly and slide by each other (the answer is no, of course!). You "McGyvering," all the time like when you fixed my car with only a pen knife and a racquetball. Living in the truck, donating plasma, playing Scrabble, using our precious dollars to buy armloads of books from St. Vincent de Paul. Road trips, train trips, camping, reading aloud Sherlock Holmes, the Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship, Growing up Catholic (you just don´t understand!). You opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and being.
The biggest adventure of all was having Colin and Carlisle. I am endlessly grateful to you for them. They really are the best of us. We will all hold your memory dear.
Peace and love,
Sherry
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