Two Men ...and one more

1964-2011

In an earlier post I mentioned two men whose passing the whole world had noticed, not knowing that this week, death would come to our house too. We got the news on Thursday morning that HandyMan's sister's husband had unexpectedly succumbed to the cancer that he'd lived with for years.
We all knew Andy (yes, that's his real name) had a much more finite amount of life than the rest of us. He's lived with a slow-growing tumor in his brain for many years, but recently, it had morphed into something lethal. We had hoped to be able to see him one more time when we returned to the Great White Up in July, but alas, it was not meant to be.
HandyMan's sister  is a lovely gifted woman whose life path has been painfully impacted by the destructive choices of others. She has managed, with grace and perseverance, to rise above the damage and become a serene and steady beacon to the resiliency of the human spirit and the renewal that is possible in relationship with God.
Along the way, she met Andy.
I first met Andy at the other brother's wedding in 1990. He is/was a little older than myself, and in the course of the reception hijinks, we two somehow got roped into doing a skit for the newlyweds. The skit itself was funny, but as occasionally happens, without rehearsal or prior collaboration, Andy and I somehow got it together and the skit was hilarious. It was preserved on tape, and when I am back again in July, I plan to watch it again.
At that time, Andy had blonde, curly hair (a perm, I think) and was a skinny, not-really-going-anywhere irresponsible bachelor. I didn't think very much of him, being already 8 years married with the kind of maturity that comes from unremitting responsibility for others. Not that I disliked him - far from it. He was funny, smart, and amiable. I guess I just thought of him as irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, being as he appeared to be totally without focus or direction (a state always guaranteed to give a Choleric such as myself a bad case of hives).
HM's sister was also at that wedding - she's sandwiched between HandyMan and the Other Brother - but at that point was in the midst of resolving the turmoil and chaos created by others. She and Andy met, and to hear her talk about that meeting is to laugh, given the outcome. After a number of years, she moved from the Wild West to Upper Canada, and the acquaintance was renewed, thanks to the fact that Other Brother married Andy's sister (the Newlywed of the reception skit). Eventually they married, and the last oh, ten, twelve, or fourteen years have been different for both of them. They were good for, and to, each other.
But really, this about Andy.
Andy could do just about anything with technology, and specifically, he knew Microsoft and its products. He taught IT at the local college, rode his motorcycle, and invested his free time in service to others. Together they were passionate about missions - traveling to the Dominican Republic to invest in a tangible way in the betterment of others, physically and spiritually. (At least I think it was the DR...somewhere in the Caribbean, anyway). They went more than once. They loved it there.
Andy's last trip was to China and Tibet - he was determined to do what he could, right to the end - and he was able to do what he loved - to tell others of the grace and mercy of God for all. He tried in the best way he knew how to personify "God with skin on." A preacher friend once said, "Love without boots is nothing at all." Andy's love had boots on - he did what he could, when he could, where he could. He didn't just go halfway round the world - he loved at home too.
When HandyMan came back from Upper Canada last September he said, "Andy sold his bike."
Oh.
The implication of Andy's decision to sell his beloved motorcycle was painful.
February's news of his perilous condition was frightening.
His death last week was sad for everyone.
We had settled in our minds that we would say goodbye when we saw him again.  We couldn't attend the funeral, and HandyMan had to content himself with calling his family, giving his sister flowers for the funeral yesterday, and sending a note via email in which he tried to convey his sadness for her loss, and comfort for her heart. Sometimes being on The Far Side of the World isn't so wonderful.
Andy was a good man. I am reminded of the passing this past week of the evil skinny guy and the preacher from New York. Psalm 116:15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Andy's death will certainly go unnoticed by the wider world, but I'm quite sure there's notice where it matters.