Friday, July 28, 2006

Andy Polcyn

You know, I wasn't really going to write about this, but I just followed a link to http://www.mem.com/ and cried my way through Andy Polcyn's memorial - and felt like I did want to put it in here after all.

Andy was one of the best people I’ve ever known – and tragically, he passed away at the beginning of this month. Andy Polcyn was the best of everything. He was a hard worker, a self-made man and the president of his own company, Advance Environmental Associates. He was also incredibly smart – and a self-professed gadget freak. Andy always had the newest coolest phone and/or PDA or computer accessory. He was a great father, a good friend and a wonderful husband. I wish I had known him better, and appreciated the time I did know him more than I did at the time. He died way too soon – at only 59, which makes no sense. He was healthy and fit – an avid skier and boater. He was very active in his church and community. This sounds like such a generic blurb about any nice guy – but Andy really was more than that. He fit one hell of a lot of life into just 59 years.

Eight years ago, Susan Polcyn hired me to be her assistant at Facts & Comparisons and she and I became good friends. It didn’t take long for us to figure out that we lived just blocks from one another. So Jeremy and I also got to know her husband, Andy. Being together every day, Susan and I quickly developed a rapport that carried over into our personal lives, as did our husbands. When Jeremy was ready to become a small business owner, one of the first people he went to for advice was Andy. When there were problems with the environmental report, Andy didn’t wait for Jeremy to ask for help (which was ironic because Jeremy had actually called and left Andy a message asking for help – Andy just hadn’t listened to it yet) – he just came right over to read the report and advised Jeremy on how to handle the situation. He was an inspiration to both Jeremy and I.

For someone that I knew for such a relative short amount of time, I really miss Andy. And I miss the Susan that Susan was when she was with Andy. After nearly forty years of marriage, she still giggled when he flirted with her – which was often. (And those of you that know Susan – yes, she giggled).

Even if you never met Andy, please go to http://www.mem.com/display/biography.asp?ID=1422877 and read his memorial and then view the movie. Also, click on "tributes" and read the eulogy his sons, Tom and Bryan wrote. We should all be so lucky to have a father, husband or friend like Andy. I miss him.

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