Andy was a friend of mine around 1981/1982 when he lived in Yonkers with Joanne and Rudy. We lost touch shortly after. I always remembered him because he sang with a band named Sin City that used to play at a local rock club called The Rising Sub. He introduced me the Rush and year or two later when I spoke with him he was like Rush is so yesterday I am now into U2. I always remembered him as being a good guy and appreciated him taking me in as a friend.  I was a bit envious because he was a singer and woman went for him and his curly hair. I tried to locate him a number of years back but without success; I only knew he moved to Hawaii at one point in time. Our earthly time is only fleeting and I wish I could have spoke to him before his passing but in the absence of being able to do so, I am letting his family and friends know through this message that Andy lives on through memories of others, even those who have not seen him for nearly a half of a century.

I was so sad to hear that my precious friend Andy has left us. He had been a wonderful friend since the age of 12 years old when we shared life together in Iceland in seventh grade. It just would not have been the same without his laughter and camaraderie. Even through the struggle of his battle with cancer he always stayed positive and hopeful. The lesson I am taking from his passing is that we should cherish every single day and every single moment that we have with people that we care about.

Andy’s spirit was a force. I wish we’d had more time to spend together, but I’ll always remember his positive nature. He was always quick to give compliments, and I could literally sense the wheels in his head turning when he was figuring something out. Both times we reconnected were 20 years apart, but that didn’t matter—  being family mattered with Andy, and he was so proud of his family. 

We will miss you Andy.  

Andy with the family at Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary part in October 2021.

2nd part of post ...
He could also be so damn funny along with being so damn smart and being so damn generous. When he was in top form, he could make the funniest comments and charm anyone. He told stories about wrestling trees WWE-style to entertain the crew when he was doing a lot of landscaping work.
His circumstances undercut him and made it difficult for him to get on track at times. His dad died when he was 11, and it hit him hard, as it would anyone. But he still had plenty of accomplishments for me to brag about. He rose to sergeant quickly in a just a few years in the Army, serving in the 25th Infantry Regiment, coming out of basic already with a stripe and graduating from Airborne Air Assault School, where he trained to rappel from helicopters (like those crazy early scenes in the movie "Black Hawk Down"). He became an expert in air assault weapons. As I recall, he completed Ranger school, after initially having to withdraw because of an injury near the end of his first try. I could be fuzzy on the details. In my mind, he was tougher than all of them and basically led those yahoos and showed them how Ranger-ing is supposed to be done (except for the swimming; he hated that part of the testing).
Some of my favorite memories of him are when all 5 brothers did something together: Andy, Joseph, John, and Mike. Going to Puerto Rico. Singing karaoke. Seeing the Grateful Dead (it was a different time, folks; and I still suspect the main reason Andy agreed to go was that the concert was at a football stadium). 
With all his setbacks, I was always rooting for him. I had my own issues, but I hope he always knew I was in his corner. He just needed a couple things to go his way, and he would be fine, I thought. 
Here are some of my favorite pictures of him, partly because it wasn't easy to catch him smiling in a picture. And he had a great smile.
Anyway, he was always loved. And we're going to miss him a lot. It's going to be strange being just 4 brothers now. (2/2)

I posted this on Facebook previously, but for those who aren't on there: 
We lost our oldest brother, Andy, to lymphoma about 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021.  I was one of those able to be with him that day just a couple of hours earlier. Most of the family is already aware, but I wanted to post my own thoughts. I had been avoiding it, as I do emotionally painful tasks. Fair warning, I feel like this might be overly long, so you might want to settle in.
tl;dr version: I loved my oldest brother a lot, and I'm going to miss him.
I guess I can only give a littlest brother perspective. Like most younger siblings, I looked up to my older brother. He taught me about football and pretty much every other sport -- at least all the ones New York has a team for (go Giants). I wanted long hair like he had. I wanted a leather jacket like he had. I wanted to sing heavy metal like he did(!)
He had a rough life, though, and his grief and bitterness about the hand he was dealt sometimes made it harder for him to show affection. But he was overflowing with love for family and friends. You wanted him with you if you needed to get something done, and he was always willing to help a loved-one in need. If you were even half paying attention, it was clear how caring he was. He enjoyed surprising people with gifts when he could get them, often for no other reason than he was thinking of them and wanted to give them something they would like. He also kindly provided me with my first niece, Christina, and then two nephews, Drew and Tyler.
And he was great at showing love through his culinary skills or just by providing food. Whether it was one of his signature Italian dishes or a less-expected cuisine, he always stamped it with his personal style and served it lovingly. And probably with a cooking tip. "The secret to eggplant is to not overcook it!" 🙂 Other times, he would drop by with your favorite cheesecake he picked up. (1/2) 
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OBITUARY

Andrew Pasterczyk

March 14, 1964 – December 18, 2021

Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home & Memorial Park

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