Eulogy by Andrew’s dad
When thinking of a few words to say about Andrew, there are so many that you don’t know where to start
But as I tried to remember, I thought of 3 words that best describe Andrew … Successful, Happiness, Legend
When one measures success, we often look at people who reach a high position in their companies, or make a lot of money, or maybe a politician. But as his mom told me many times, success can be measured by how many people would attend their funeral. By the looks here of more than 250 of his fellow skateboarders and friends and the comments on Facebook, Andrew was quite successful. Who could have turned out such a crowd or had so many posts? Not many I know
And why? maybe it was that infectious smile that lit up a room when Andrew entered. People would gravitate around Andrew like a rock star. He was fun, always laughing, and just a good guy to be around. He shared generously even when he didn’t have much. When we would go to Israel, no one asked about me or his sister, Danielle or his mom, but only when Andrew was coming. He would go with his cousins out on the town, not speaking a word of Hebrew and the next day would go out by himself because he met 3 new friends the night before. When he would come to visit us in California, Danielle and Paul couldn’t wait to take him out because he would make sure they had a great time
But when it came to money, Andrew was also quite successful.
It started when he was 10, and many don’t know, but Andrew won the lottery. See, while camping on our family trip, we bought some lottery tickets before the Saturday evening drawing. And before we went to bed we all discussed what we would do if we won. Andrew piped up and wanted to first buy his cars and skateboards, but then he would treat everyone to their choice as well.
The following morning, I woke up early, bought a Denver Post, and changed all the winning numbers in the paper to match his tickets. Our suspenseful reveal of the numbers one by one only led to heightened anticipation until Andrew hit all his numbers and the Powerball as well. That smile, laughter, and joy was infectious; and that grin burned into my memory. More cars, more toys, more skateboards for everyone he knew. And even though he knew it ended in a joke, years later with that smile, he still regularly reminded me how happy he was to think of what he could do.
But when you read the postings on Facebook, Andrew's success came not from what he did for himself, but what he did for others
More than 200 comments like:
You were my first friend
You taught me how to do a skateboard trick
I learned so much from watching you
We’ve been friends for so many years
And similarly, was happiness, not first for himself, but always for others.
Andrew knew the joy he gave to his Holocaust Surviving Grandparents, Goldie and Saba
Goldie would love calling after him, Andrewlitzo, and Saba would relish in holding him, looking him in the eye every day, and in his broken English with a Polish accent,
Handrew, you’re the Bessa Boy in the whole Vorld
Andrew knew through all their life sufferings what happiness meant to them. So even with a language barrier, Andrew decided to learn some Hebrew so he could make them happy as well as himself. So, at about 6 or seven, and for the next 10 years, Andrew with a big smile would go up to them saying, Ani Rotzeh Casef Achshav. To which, I want money now would always get a good laugh and a couple of bucks
Andrew made his friends happy. His teachers always smiled when they talked about Andrew. And sister Danielle was the apple of his eye. He always thought the world of her and when she married Paul, he couldn’t wait to have a brother he could pal around with.
When we went to Israel for Danielle’s wedding with my sister and brother-in-law and Paul’s family and sister, Andrew was so proud to make sure everyone was happy. When Andrew came to visit us in California or saw pictures of his new nephews, his face lit up for his love for his sister, but more importantly that he had future skateboarders to teach
And there was his mom. No better mom and he knew it. Whether it was a problem or accomplishment to share, she was there. They talked and texted regularly about everything and mom was the champion of team Andrew. When Andrew had a birthday, she’d say get a friend and we’ll go to dinner. But Andrew couldn’t choose. So, it was always 6 or 7 friends going to places like the Buckhorn Exchange where Andrew would love to tease mom on how much snake, rhino, alligator and other assorted crazy meats he could eat because he knew it would get her goat, which he also ate while she winced. He laughed and loved it…and so did she. Her comments were always, “I never saw him happier.”
Besides just sharing his life making others happy, Andrew was very happy when he was competing in sports. He won many medals at Denver Academy, was the eighth ranked soccer player in the State, was on the Kent Denver Hockey team that won the State title and runner up title the following 2 years.
I remember Andrew came home one day and said that he was going out for track at Denver Academy. In the first competition, there were only 6 kids on the team and about 10 events. Andrew told the coach not to worry because he would compete in 8 events even though he had never done some of them before. They had to stop the track meet so he could finish one race and then in a few short minutes start another. Only 5’2 inches at the time, he won the high jump, placed second in the pole vault and took home 6 other medals that day.
And a runner he was. I reminded the Rabbi that when he took Andrew’s Hebrew School class to New York, Andrew gathered a small group and ran away to Times Square because, according to him, “that’s where the big show was."
But besides the dear many friends Andrew loved to be with, he truly was happy with his animals. Whether tarantulas, lizards, snakes, he always cared dearly for his animals and really knew how to take care of them.
This was in sharp contrast to my animal skills. About once a week I would take a dead fish out of our tank and Andrew and I would have a ceremony around the toilet. I changed the water, cleaned the rocks, bought a new filter all to no avail. No matter what I did the epidemic continued. Andrew knew I was a lost cause and proudly convinced me of a better way to display fish in our 100-gallon tank
So instead of killing fish, we now displayed cans of tuna fish, jars of gefilte fish, and lox and bagels as the new model in my tank. This man knew it all.
When Andrew wanted something, he pursued it aggressively. He prided himself as a master grower in warehouses around Denver. He enjoyed it, studied hard and knew he could outperform other grow producers. It was amazing to me that when he came to visit us in Sonoma wine country and we attended a XMAS party with some wine experts, watching Andrew discuss soil structure, nutrients, yields really was impressive and surprised any of the experts.
But he was always happy around his dogs. Besides Elvis, he was proud to name Waldo who was always with Andrew. Their bond was inseparable. Whenever you wanted to know where Andrew was, just look for where’s Waldo. But nothing could beat the happiness he found with Buddha and Lady, his Huskies. He researched the dogs he wanted, knew everything about raising them and how to train them. He loved them and they loved him. When you saw Andrew with his Huskies, you felt there was an unspoken communication as the smiles would light up on all their faces. As he spoke to them, did tricks with them, and they barked and sighed at him, it was a beautiful sight.
When legends are spoken of, we think of the greats…Mohammed Ali, Mickey Mantle, Payton Manning. But if you go down to the Denver Skate Park, the name Andrew Deutsch is legendary. More Skateboarders know Andrew’s name probably than that of the Mayor; because Andrew was the Mayor of the Skatepark. Early on Andrew cherished and advocated this art form and made presentations at the Greenwood Village City Council to build their park. Every day this week from Greenwood Village to Denver and other parks within the Metro area, there has been a group skate with hundreds of skaters out there every night in honor of Andrew. This will culminate with a skate and BarBQ this Saturday evening.
Whether working at the skate shop or being at the park, Andrew would unselfishly sigh autographs, teach kids young and old a new trick or better form. He relished in helping the get better, and he smiled when they achieved their goal. Read his Facebook page and it smacks with comments how he taught someone a new flip, or being on a rail, or all the other names I know nothing about.
Not seeking any accolades, skating and the reputation he made for himself meant a lot to him. Go on YouTube and you’ll see how many videos he made and realize how many competitions he won. As soon as he finished filming, he would send it off to our skateboard expert, his mom, for approval…because mom knew best. Rain or shine, he was at home in the park. Some of Andrew’s ashes will be spread in the park because that is what he loved and that is where he showed his love.
Andrew was just accepted to Arapahoe Community College for Graphic Art Design. He wanted to use his artistic talents to help help develop his ROLLMODEL Skateboard Brand. He designed its logo, some of its clothing ideas, and other applications. As I told him, I would try hard to develop to develop this brand he believed so strongly in. Because legends never die!
As one of the greatest philosophers of our time, Forest Gump said:
“Life is like a box of chocolates” and our family has its fair share of nuts. But in that box even for the short time it lasts, we’ll never forget the sweet taste of the special cherry one.
Andrew, for all your dear friends and loved ones, you always were and always will be remembered as the sweetest cherry that touched all our lives.
We love you. Always