Sarrah Case has paid a heartfelt tribute to her late husband Andy, who passed away recently at the age of 48.
A true Stroudie, popular Andy was a well-known face on the running and cycling scene and a self-employed planning consultant.
Andy will be forever missed by his wife Sarrah, his children Georgina, Megan and James, and all his family and friends.
A tribute to Andy from his wife Sarrah
Born at Stroud Maternity Hospital in 1974 he was the proud son of Alan & Linda. Andy grew up on Barrowfield Road in Farmhill, he attended Callowell Primary School, and then went on, like his brother Simon before and me after him, to Grammar School at Marling.
Andy was incredibly practical, even as a youngster. Firstly, with Lego sets, especially his Lego Technics Excavator with Pneumatic action! One of many sets which I was never allowed to touch.
At the age of 16, he built his own fluorescent yellow Reynolds 531 road bike using some of the best equipment available to buy at the time (I am reliably informed he chose the colour to match a cycling top in his possession). He saved up money from his paper round and then later his job at Tesco to be able to acquire the parts required. This bike was his pride and joy at the time and still sits proudly on his turbo trainer for indoor use only.
When Andy first learnt to drive, he was always keen to maintain (and tinker) with his cars as you could do then. His favourite car was undoubtedly his black mark one Vauxhall Astra GTE, it was certainly an improvement on the brown one he owned before that. In fact, with the exception of his electric Nissan Leaf every single car he owned was a Vauxhall, all but one being a derivative of the Astra!
Cars were also the source of some angst! Once he was on a Venture Scout water sports event at South Cerney where he lost his glasses in the lake during the activity. This meant he couldn’t drive home, thankfully one of the others in the group was able to drive Andy’s car. He was also not short of a few incidents and he definitely wasn’t a fan of the Austin Maestro having written two of them off, both owned by his mother. He also went into the back of a vintage Aston Martin once, a more costly mistake.
His love of the great outdoors meant he originally pursued a career working with English Nature, although that didn’t last long as he went on to obtain a degree in Urban Planning which he later furthered to obtain a Masters. He ended up as a successful planning consultant eventually building his own business working from home in Stroud.
In his spare time, Andy liked to run and cycle. He was a keen member of both Stroud Athletics Club, where he met his wife Sarrah, and Stroud Valley Velos cycling club and has made many friends as a result. Andy even ran the Berlin Marathon once (and vowed never to run a marathon again), he spent much of his time around Stroud in Lycra!
In more recent years, his concern of the impact of global warming very much impacted his life choices. The aforementioned electric car and installation of solar panels just two ways in which he could potentially make an impact for the better.
Andy was primarily a family man, he always loved his nearest and dearest seeking to provide for them as best he could. He had three children, Georgina, Megan and James. They were by far the people he cared most about, you would often see him ferrying them to school or some extracurricular activity.
Spending time on the cycle track on his folding bike with the kids was a favourite. He was incredibly proud of everything that they have achieved so far in their lives and will continue to be remembered by each of them as they continue their own life journey.
To round it all off and to put it simply. Andy was undoubtedly and most definitely a Stroudie!
Sarrah has set up a JustGiving page in Andy’s memory to support the British Heart Foundation and Kavuka School in Kenya, which is twinned with King’s Stanley Primary School, where his children Megan and James attend school.
DONATE HERE
