Andrew Elmer Pike

Andy served in the Navy but forever loved the Army under which his father Warnie served. He was born in Fiesole, a town in the hills above Florence, Italy to his mother Ida Maria Lippi just after the war. The Army had them living in Germany, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alaska until they settled in Huntsville to hand-build their dream home atop Rainbow Mountain near Madison. It was completed in 1984.

He retired as chief photographer of Redstone Arsenal after 35 years in the civil service. His specialty was high-speed motion capture of rocketry for NASA and the military. He held top-secret clearance.

Andy mentored several neglected youths offering guidance, knowledge, and support whenever asked — his efforts influenced the careers of many. His personal interests were vast and he possessed an inexhaustible well of deep knowledge from astronomy to gardening to mechanics. He was a pilot, collector of cars, marksman, and loved boating on the Tennessee River. Upon the abrupt death of his father, Andy committed to caring for his

ailing mother till her last breath in 1999. He had no children and is buried with the ashes of his four beloved Alaskan Malamutes.