Andy passed away from melanoma on Thursday August 5th at Innisfree House in Kitchener, near his home and family.
For D.
He told me very specifically we were not to say he battled, or fought cancer. Anyone who has been close with anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, they know this to be true. You follow instructions, try to survive it and helplessly reckon with your existence. I was also not to say that he was brave and had courage. Soldiers are brave and had courage. He wanted this distinction to be clear as he knew and loved men who were, and his reverence for their sacrifice is awe aspiring.
I am writing this now, as he sleeps peacefully, because he believes as I do, that the life you live is all there is and you need to live it this way. For this I am eternally grateful, because in so many ways I know he has. He saw no value in proclaiming someone’s worth after they were gone, if you hadn’t done it while they were alive. I don’t know what is to come in the days ahead, but I know the days behind him were filled with music, travel, great food, barbeques, beer, an amazing career working for and with people he loved and time with friends. Beyond all, he had his best friend/clone Edward, by his side for the past 11 years. He cried in the ultrasound when he found out we were having a son and from that moment on he has showered him with love and affection, so Edward would grow up feeling and knowing how much he is loved. We both believe that is how you make amazing humans.
He is a complicated man. He is wildly clever, loyal, hilarious, stubborn, a know it all, a born performer and beyond a very sarcastic yet handsome exterior, he is a marshmallow. And he bestows all of these qualities on what he loves most – Edward, barbershop music and community, Crystal Palace, WWII history, any fraternal organization that will take him, including Pi Kappa Alpha 😉 and his family and friends. I suspect in that order ☺. If you love him, he knows, and he feels loved. This I also know. So, I hope like me, you take that into everyday forward and make sure that not only those around you feel loved, but that you do as well – do the things you love, or you may feel too scared to do. Spend time doing what matters to you. In his words whenever he did something he felt was bit crazy, or expensive, but it he really wanted to do……he would say to me ”F*** it, right?”.
With love from his family.
d (his wife, Aisling), Gary (his son Edward), Anne (his mum), Robyn (his baby sister), Gladdy (Andrew, his brother in law and friend), Jesse (Caitlyn, his niece) and Chooch (Carleigh, his niece), and in memory of Pete, his first best friend and favourite bass.
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Thursday August 5th 2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Andrew Edward Dennett Thursday August 5th 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:, Province: Ontario