Richard McKinley Andrewsen

Richard was born in London, Ontario, Canada.  While still quite young he was adopted by an American couple, Arnold and Emma Andrewsen, who resided in Detroit, Michigan. Eventually they pulled up stakes and moved the family to the Los Angeles area, in California.  It was there that he was raised, became a naturalized citizen and completed his schooling in the Los Angeles public school system.

              Then it was off to college.  He attended colleges and universities in California, Arizona, and Hawaii, majoring in Physical Education, Athletics Administration and Education.  Eventually he earned his BA Degree and teaching certificate from California State University at Northridge.

              Richard was a born educator.  After a few years of teaching at the high school level for the Los Angeles Unified School District, he found his niche at the middle school level.  He began his real career, one that would last for almost thirty years, at Mount Vernon Middle School, in the inner city of Los Angeles.  If you every talked to anyone in the know, middle school is tough enough, the inner city makes it real challenging.  Yet he thrived at his new school.  He took on the roles of physical education and math teacher.  Counselor, coach, various leadership responsibilities on faculty committees and a variety of student activities.  He was adored by his students and respected by his colleagues.

              There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his kids.  He was committed to their success.  The most outstanding reputation that he was noted for, was his willingness to become personally involved with his students.  He would identify kids that were at risk of dropping out of school, had attendance problems, and had problems relating to adults and other students and possible getting involved in street gangs.  He would shepherd them along, using his own time and money to insure that they stayed in school, completed their studies, earned their diplomas and enrolled in a college or a training program.  What a great impact he had on young lives and what a great legacy he left. 

              Richard had a knack for attracting people to him because of his warm and interesting personality.  Wherever he traveled, he would meet so many people who would later become close personal friends.  He had plenty of opportunities for that because his favorite things to do were skiing all over North America and Europe and attending dozens of Olympic Games.  He was an avid fly fisherman, hunter, motorcyclist and sports enthusiast (his favorite teams were the LA Kings hockey team and the Gonzaga Basketball team).

              When he retired from teaching, he moved up her to the Northwest and settled into Sandpoint, Idaho.  He fell in love with Sandpoint when one of his friends married a local girl and they moved up here.  He would come up on his vacations to visit his friend, fish and hunt.  But it was he that got hooked.  Once up here he immediately became a solid member of the community.  He became active with various causes such as the Panhandle Animal Shelter, Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited.  One of his favorite activities, of course, was teaching young people to fly fish. 

              He never regretted moving up here and said this was the place where he wanted to spend the rest of his days. He got his wish.

              He left a sizable mark on this planet and he will be missed very much by the many friends he made during his life here.

 Good-by dear friend.