Joseph "Rick" Andrews

Joseph Richard Andrews ("Rick") of Blue Bell, PA, and Margate, NJ, passed away peacefully on December 6, 2023, surrounded by family and friends.
Despite his diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, Rick lived and loved life to the fullest up until days before his death, including celebrating his 79th birthday in November. Rick was the son of the late Joseph and Jane (nee Baker) Andrews and leaves his wife of 22 years Eileen (formerly Snyder Pearson Pereira). He was the cherished father of Jessica Andrews of Philadelphia and Jeffrey Andrews (Sabrina) of King of Prussia.
Predeceased by his first wife Connie (Bishes) in 1998 after 29 years of marriage, he was the much loved "Gramps" of granddaughters Delaney and Mila, as well as the sister of Deborah DiSanto of Schwenksville. Rick will also be remembered and missed by his large family, including numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and countless friends.
A life-long resident of Montgomery County, PA, he was born in Collegeville and lived in Norristown. He raised his family in East Norriton before moving to Yorkshires of Blue Bell and the Jersey Shore. A 1962 graduate of Bishop Kenrick High School, he graduated from LaSalle University with a business degree in 1973 and served in the US Army Reserves. He began his career with Western Electric, moving to Bell of Pennsylvania and retiring from his computer systems position at Verizon in 2004. He was especially proud of his work in helping establish a centralized supply system for the new Bell Atlantic corporation.
Rick was an avid supporter of all Philadelphia teams, especially the Flyers with season tickets for more than 30 years. He followed a wide variety of sports including a passion for international football. He extended his love of these games to umpiring softball and refereeing basketball, starting with volunteering at his children's games and parlaying that into a professional one with local high school and college leagues for many years.
Being diagnosed with lung disease didn't keep Rick from staying involved in a wide variety of activities. He could be found riding his bike in Margate until recent years and fishing almost every day off the Margate pier through last summer. Travelling continued to be another passion, including trips to six of the seven continents. Their most recent excursion was to Australia and New Zealand this October, with Rick toting an oxygen tank so he wouldn't miss any of the adventure.
Rick's home-away-from-home was the Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, PA. He treasured his MLUC membership with opportunities for spiritual growth, volunteering and socializing with many good friends. His memorial service will be held there in January.
Any donations in his name may be made to the Main Line Unitarian Church at its website (mluc.org (http://mluc.org/)) or to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (the denomination's social justice organization) at UUSC.org
Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, Lansdale