Services will be held at Saint Catherine’s Parish, 17400 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill, on Saturday, September 26, 2015, at 10:15 A.M. If you wish to donate in Andy’s honor, he would suggest the Learning and Loving Education Center, 16890 Church St., #16, Morgan Hill, CA 95037 or Saint Catherine’s Parish, earmarked for the purchase of the Assistive Loop Listening Device so that all parishioners can appreciate the Masses and celebrations.
In the early morning of September 13, 2015, Grandparents’ Day, Andy Sermersheim died, leaving hundreds of friends, family, caretakers and even casual acquaintances, poorer for his absence.
Even after becoming legally blind and exceedingly hard of hearing, he still had a joy for living and a determination to learn and keep active to the very end: playing Scrabble, following the Giants, listening to books for the blind, leading a memoirs group of friends at his residence at Westmont of Morgan Hill and always preparing for a good tomorrow.
Andy was born the first day of spring, 1920 in New Albany, IN.
His father, Clement died suddenly when Andy was just 16. A few weeks later Andy, his mother Anna and siblings Jerry, Helen and Mary had to evacuate with thousands of others during the historic Ohio River flood of 1937.
Andy served in the U. S. Navy in World War II in the Pacific as a navigator and was called up again in 1950 for the Korean War. He loved the Navy and appreciated the experiences and friends he made in those years. His Navy experiences on ship and on land expanded his horizons, and established fully his appreciation of other cultures, environments and people.
During peacetime, the family moved with him to assignments in San Diego, Long Beach, Mare Island, Virginia Beach and Kalamazoo. After active duty, he continued serving in the Naval Reserve for 12 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.
Between those two wars, Andy married his long-time sweetheart, Margaret Ott. They started a family, first Andrea and Kristy.
After Korea, Joe was born in New Albany on the way to the next assignment. Finally, Teresa came along in Long Beach when the family had settled into civilian life.
In 1961, the family moved to San Jose, but by 1964, Margaret grew ill and increasingly disabled. Until her death in 1983, Andy cared for her and for the children, too. He was ever grateful to Holy Spirit Parish for their support and loving friendship then and now.
Margaret and Andy had four wonderful grandchildren: Aaron Goldsmith (Andrea’s son), Ansel and Camille (whose father, Joe, died in 1996) and Flori (Teresa’s very special daughter, who helped “Bo-Pa” take his shoes off every night.)
After Margaret’s death, Andy had the great luck to meet Anne VonPinnon in preparation for a church tour to Oberammergau, Germany. Though she could not complete the trip, they stayed in touch, and fell in love. They celebrated 28 years of marriage before her death in 2013.
Anne and Andy traveled all over the world together; she introduced him to dozens of her friends from many lands who enriched his life greatly.
He fell in love with Anne’s family too, and cherished the visits of so many, especially Andy and Esperanza Dias and their five children. He truly loved being an uncle to them all.
Anne was a stalwart of Saint Lucy Parish especially the choir, which added more great friends to Andy’s life.
Andy worked for the Santa Clara County Assessor’s office for over 20 years, serving as an officer of the Society of Governmental Appraisers and retiring as Assistant Chief Appraiser. He was known for his attention to detail and his constant cheerfulness, and remained friends with many, especially enjoying his monthly ROMEO (Retired Old Men Eating Out) lunches.
Andy would want all to know that he totally loved the care and attention he received from so many doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other staff at Kaiser, Santa Clara, San Jose and Gilroy. He would encourage others with hearing loss to join his friends at the Hearing Loss Association of America – Silicon Valley whose companionship he cherished.
He loved the residents and staff at Westmont Morgan HIll and eagerly awaited every event, especially the visits of the large dogs. He learned not to be afraid of big dogs at age 93.
