Our beloved son, brother, uncle, cousin and friend, Andrew “Andy” M. Abbott, went to be with his father on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
Andy and his twin sister Beth were born Jan. 22, 1969, in Portland. Ore. He and the family lived at a U.S. Forest Service ranger station outside Portland until he was nearly 6 when they moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, for five years, and then to north central Idaho in 1979. While there were some periods of time that he lived elsewhere, he always returned to Idaho.
His love of learning was lifelong and accompanied by intense focus and persistence. He didn’t always want to learn what he was told to learn; he learned what he was interested in and wanted to know, and he learned it to great depth. He was creative and loved to work with his hands. He earned an associate degree from Lewis-Clark State College and then joined the U.S. Navy to continue his quest for knowledge. He completed Engineman A School with the top score of all participants in the course at the Great Lakes Base, Illinois. After a life-altering event while in the Navy, he returned to Idaho and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho.
Andy lived his life on his own terms, always looking forward, focusing on the possibilities of the future. He was gentle, humble, loyal, independent and while he was a private person, he was always ready to aid those in need. He was endlessly forgiving, never bitter and a peacemaker at heart. Time spent with Andy was a gift and an opportunity to see the world through his eyes.
He was preceded in death by his father, Robert “Bob” Abbott and survived by his mother, Lura Abbott; twin sister Beth Heglin (John); sister Ann Abbott (Erik Arnson); nephews Thomas and Daniel Heglin and his chosen family of friends. Those lives he touched were positively impacted by Andy’s presence in them.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in Andy’s honor at 11 a.m. Friday, May 3, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 625 Lake St., Grangeville. A barbecue gathering to celebrate his life and share “Andy stories” will follow at the Grangeville Gun Club, 145 Lukes Gulch Road, Grangeville. Blackmer Funeral Home of Grangeville is in charge of arrangements. Send condolences to the family at blackmerfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Grangeville Gun Club Youth Program, the Brain Injury Recovery Foundation (braininjuryrecoveryfoundation.org), or a charity of your choice.
Please consider keeping your memories of him close as you think of the remarkable things that made him who he was and be thankful if he was a part of your lives. He was taken too soon and will be greatly missed.
