Andrew Andersch

Celebrating Life

Andrew Andersch passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus Christ at home the evening of January 7, 2024. He was surrounded by family.  A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 13, at Baker City Church of the Nazarene at 3:00 PM. 

Andrew was born April 11, 1968, in Portland, Oregon, to Robert “Bob” and Hedy (Ripfl) Andersch.  The young family soon bought a piece of property in the country outside of Beaverton and built a house. Andrew lived there for the next 40 years.

When Andrew was about two years old, his parents took him camping at Anthony Lake. He had a great time watching the birds and other wildlife, camping out, and playing in the water. A lifetime of love was born, and he cried when it was time to go home.  The family visited the area often in the ensuing years.

Andrew remembered being lonely until his brother Karl was born when Andrew was four.  They were the best of friends and spent countless hours working on cars and hanging out.  They stopped wrestling when Karl got big enough to beat his big brother.  The family was completed with the arrival of little sister Maria, eleven years younger than Andrew. He dutifully ferried her to ballet lessons, less than thrilled by the instructor’s suggestion that he might want to join in, too.

Music was important in Andrew’s life from the beginning.  He took piano and accordion lessons and sang with the St. Anthony Boys Choir starting at the age of nine.  In addition to local performances, they sang at Disneyland, Marriott’s Great America, and various missions in California.  Andrew also got to travel to Europe with the choir.  They toured all through Italy, singing at cathedrals and missions and sang for the pope at Vatican City.  

Andrew graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1987.  He went on to obtain a 2-year automotive technology degree from Portland Community College and worked as a mechanic for Damerow Ford in Beaverton for several years. When that got to be too hard on his back, he transitioned to selling auto parts and worked at Baxter Auto Parts for ten years.

He married the love of his life, Meghan Norenberg, at Anthony Lake in August 2009. It was a beautiful day with the fish jumping, but he didn’t even attempt to toss out a line.  The two started their life together in Union while Andrew worked at Goss Motors in La Grande. The wind in the Grande Ronde Valley was too much for Andrew, so they moved to Baker County in 2010.  Andrew worked at Baker Garage and later Cashway Lumber.  Between the two jobs, he seemed to know half the residents of Baker County.  He enjoyed visiting and making deliveries to his favorite customers.

Andrew and Meghan enjoyed five wonderful children.  Andrew’s favorite family activity was fishing.  The children got burned out and ready to go home long before Andrew did.  They also spent time hiking together, and Andrew gave them training in basic automotive skills.

Andrew’s favorite hobbies were fishing, hiking, watching movies, listening to music, and eating. He was the first in line at any potluck or family gathering. 

Andrew was diagnosed in April 2023 with an aggressive, rare, and terminal form of small intestinal cancer.  He tried every natural approach he could and fought very hard to heal.  He ultimately outlived his likely prognosis by a couple of months. 
Andrew was preceded in death by his father, Robert Andersch.  He is survived by his wife, Meghan, and children Ashton, Daunte, Arianah, Emma, and Johnathon, all of Baker City; mother, Hedy Andersch of Sublimity, OR; brother Karl (Janna) Andersch of Aumsville, OR; sister Maria (Bruce) Schmidlkofer of Shaw, OR; five wonderful nephews; and two beautiful nieces. Obituary courtesy of Coles Tribute Center.

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