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- Little Chute - David D. Andres, age 87, of Little Chute passed away peacefully on Wednesday January 31, 2018. He was born on November 13, 1930 son of the late Emil and Clara (Kloida) Andres. He married Shirley Heiting on July 25, 1953 at Holy Cross Church, Kaukauna. After graduating from high school in Antigo, Dave entered the Navy where he served aboard the USS Sea Poacher submarine until his honorable discharge in 1952. Dave was employed at Badger Northland in Kaukauna for many years. After leaving Badger, he became one of the partners of Fox Valley Tool & Die, Inc., Kaukauna, where he saw the business grow and expand until his retirement. During those retirement years, Dave helped his sons Peter and Steve each start machining businesses of their own - ATCAM, LLC (Andres Thermal Coating and Machine) and Andres Machine Service, Inc. - where he enjoyed spending time at both shops running various machines, making deliveries, answering phones and serving as the unofficial "Good Will Ambassador" for both operations. Dave was a life-long member of St. John Nepomucene Church where he served as an usher for over 40 years and generously supported many parish charities and activities.
Dave was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather who enjoyed having fun with his family at the cottage, first on Pickerel Lake and later Crane Lake - where the fish were always biting, the 4-wheelers and snowmobiles were always idling and ready to go, the sheephead blinds were always loaded with trump, his beloved Packers were always winning on the cottage tv and the cans of Miller beer in the fridge were always cold. As the four kids in the family grew older and the grandchildren started to arrive, Shirley became known as "Granny" and Dave became "Grampy" - not just to his family but to almost all who came in contact with him. This ever expanding circle of unofficial family members always enjoyed "Grampy's" kind words, funny sayings and the bubblegum or miniature candy bars he would freely distribute from pockets that never seemed to empty. He will be greatly missed by his children Lynn (Mike) Van Asten, Kimberly; Diane (Dave) Oliver, Appleton; Steve (Lori) Andres, Little Chute; Peter (Lynn) Andres, Kaukauna; grandchildren Chris Van Asten (Jennifer); Sarah Remmel (Cory), Josh Oliver (Jackie); Nick Oliver (Sarah); Robin Andres (special friend James), Rachel Andres (special friend Oliver), Zach Andres (Nani); Tyler Rasmussen (Lacie); Mindy Bowers (Bill), Nathan Andres (Jess) and Courtney Andres (special friend Adam Lamers); and 16 great grandchildren - Miles, Pearce and Teage Van Asten, Jolyn and Andilee Remmel, Wesley and Lila Oliver; Tauryn and Quinlan Andres; Raelyn, Berkley, Carley Rasmussen; Lilly, Isaiah and Elijah Bowers; and Barrett Andres. He is further survived by brothers Richard (Theda) Andres; Edward Andres and sister-in-law Aggie Heiting. He was preceded in death by his parents Emil and Clara Andres, father and mother-in-law Henry and Josephine (Vander Loop) Heiting; brothers Eugene (Geraldine) Andres; Arthur Andres; and sisters and brothers-in-law: Virginia Andres; Eunice Heiting; Eugene (Jane) Heiting; Jerome (Delores) Heiting; Melvin (Frances) Heiting and Richard Heiting.
Visitation for Dave will be held Sunday February 4, 2018 at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church, 323 Pine Street, Little Chute from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and Monday February 5, 2018 from 3:00 p.m. until time of Mass at 5:00 p.m. with Fr. Ron Belitz and Msgr. James Vanden Hogen concelebrating. Military honors will be conducted by the Jacob Coppus American Legion Post 258, immediately following the service. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery. For online condolences please visit: www.verkuilenfh.com
The Andres family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of St. Elizabeth Hospital Appleton- Third Floor, for the compassion and kindness they provided to Dad during these past two weeks.
- Grampy Eulogy
When you look back at the life of someone like Dave Andres, someone who did so much for so many during his time here, it's hard to know where to begin at a moment like this. However, with input from Lynn and other family members, I'll give it a try by focusing on some key words.
The first word of course has to be "Grampy." Dave's four kids had the honor of calling him Dad (but as Peter's Lynner pointed out, the four of us brother and sister-in-Iaws, (or the out-laws as we sometimes referred to ourselves) also thought of him as "Dad." However, to the world -he was Grampy. From the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, neighbors, postal and paper carriers, workers at Steve and Peter's shops, families he greeted at 10:00 mass.... Well you get it. Even the employees at the Piggly Wiggly were part of his extended "Grampy clan". All he needed to do was call the deli and say it was Dave and when he stopped by on Friday -they would have the special pizza they made for him -with a sausage in every bite -ready for pickup.
Another keyword for Dave might be "candy man" -because just about everyone he saw got a "treat". A Double Bubble bubble gum was the favored treat -but those miniature candy bars were also often on the menu. And these treats weren't just for the neighborhood kids, but also for the guys at the shops, and anyone he met throughout the day that did any small service for him. One of his favorite sayings was "Smile, it doesn't cost anything, and it'll make you feel a whole lot better." Followed of course by the bubble gum he would hand to them.
The next word or phrase for Dave might be -"creature of habit." Until the last month or so he visited ATCAM and Andres Machine each Monday thru Thursday where he would make his rounds talking to the guys about what was happening in their lives and usually offering some funny comment. And then there was 10:00 mass. That was HIS mass and as far as he was concerned the 4:30 and 8:00 services didn't even exist -and he always sat in the same pew in the back right corner. It was a very traumatic day when that corner was remodeled for the sound control booth and he feared having to move to a different pew. And of course there were several iron-clad rules that had to be followed at his house. The garbage can always had to be turned to the proper 45 degree angle, the frying pan, spatula, coffee pot and mug all had to be positioned in the proper order and the peanuts in the shell had to be placed just so by the dining room window so they would be in easy reach to feed to the neighborhood squirrels who apparently thought of his house as the local drive-through.
Fun-loving would also be another important key-word for Grampy. For many years, the Andres family would gather for a weekend family golf outing -which we affectionately referred to as the "Geek Open" -since the primary goal was to dress in the most outlandish clothes possible. Grampy thought this was great and often wore this truly awful t-shirt that had this large nose protruding from the front. One year, the guys tried to pull a fast one on him, by raiding his house and "borrowing" several old pairs of plaid or striped pants from his dresser drawer. At first he didn't realize these ugly pants were actually his -but when he did, he thought it was hilarious and laughed the loudest.
Steve remembered another time when Grampy had harvested some carrots and radishes from the backyard garden. Instead of washing them off the normal way, Dave thought it might be fun to try and run them through the washing machine instead. However, the next day when Granny went to use it, she said the washer was making some funny noises and the clothes were coming out dirty. It turns out that putting vegetables through a washer's delicate rinse cycle results in burning out the motor.
Another keyword for Grampy would have to be -"generous." It's impossible to convey how many times someone would need a financial lift and he was there for them. He was especially fond of sponsoring his 10 kids through the Healing the Children program offered through St. John's. He would eagerly await the annual letters from the kids in Mexico to learn how they were doing. Even though they were translated from Spanish to English, he enjoyed having Lynn read both versions to him and delighted in framing their pictures for display in his house.
The last keyword for Dave has to be "veteran." He was proud of his submarine service in the navy and thought that being able to participate in the 2014 Old Glory Honor Flight, accompanied by his son Steve, was one of the greatest days of his life. He was fond of telling the story about how he met Jesus while he was in the service. One day, while roller skating on shore, he fell backwards and hit his head hard on the concrete. After returning to base, he had a terrible headache and had to lie down. After finding blood on his pillow, his navy pals convinced him see the doctor and he actually ended up in a lengthy coma. Describing it later, he said he saw the tunnel and the beautiful light. But as he walked toward the pearly gates, the Lord came out and said "Go back my son, it's not your time".
Of course, this turned out to be a good thing for his family since he went on to marry Granny, have 4 kids, 11 grandkids and 16 great-grandkids . Throughout the years he assigned nicknames to everyone -Klinker, Slippery, Rugrat, Moose... well you know who you are. He made you all feel special -as though you were his favorite. But truth be told, he had the capacity to love you all as favorites.
Well-to quote Lynn right now -Grampy, this time Jesus didn't turn you back. He opened his arms and welcomed you through those gates. Say hi to Granny and all who passed before you. If we can be one-tenth as positive, kind and generous as you were, we'll surely meet you again in heaven one day. Love you always.
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1930 - 2018 (87 years)
