Andy Engel who was a moderator here and contributor to FHB has died. Many of the old guys here will remember him as an all around nice guy and great carpenter.
KK
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Wow! That's a shock. I never got to meet him, but enjoyed his writing.
That's sad news. I learned a lot from his posts (and magazine contributions) over the years. RIP.
“[Deleted]”
So sorry to hear this. For those of us who have been here for a very long time, Andy seemed like a friend even though we never met. What were the circumstances of his passing?
What a shock. I feel like I have known Andy for a long time even though we never met. We have lost a friend. What were the circumstances of his passing?
It was posted at Breaktime3 that he had a heart attack riding his mountain bike.
I asked a friend of Andy’s if he could give me the go ahead to post the family’s info in case anyone would like to send their condolences. He touched so many of our lives both personally and through the Breaktime forums as well as his work on the Fine Homebuilding magazine. It might be nice to reach out and show our gratitude for having him as a part of our trade and life.
Hi Calvin,
It was good talking to you today, even if the circumstances weren’t so nice.
Here’s Andy’s family’s mailing address:
74 Transylvania Road
Roxbury, CT 06783
His wife’s name is Pat, and his two (adult) sons are Kevin and Duncan.
Let me know if you need more details than that.
Take care,
Rob
Shep brought this up on another forum BT3.
“I still would like to know about donations in his memory. Hopefully, someone will come up with something.”
So here’s thought…….
“That’s a great idea, Calvin. I’ll talk to some of his close friends and perhaps his son and try to come up with some options. I’ll keep you posted. Andy was an avid mountain biker and loved the outdoors. He was very involved in local initiatives to protect wetlands and maintain trails in parks. My thought is that it should be some organization that supports one of those causes.
Rob”
Andy Engle was a good man. Friend to many and an answer for many more.
Glad I had the opportunity to know him.
Thank you Andy!
Andy Engel wrote perhaps my favorite line ever in a Fine Homebuilding magazine in an article that appeared in FH #262 in 2016. It's in the middle of this paragraph:
Because the gravel’s top surface had to be flat to fully support the foam below the foundation, fine-tuning it there was fussy work. I used rakes, a builder’s level, and my son Kevin. We checked the elevation within the building area every couple of feet.
A man who thinks, and writes, this way is my kind of guy!
Gone too soon but his work and writing will be helping people for years to come.
This is heartbreaking and tragic news. Andy was a wonderful guy and even though I never met him I've read most of his articles and his posts on here. He was always encouraging and a voice of reason. He will be sorely missed.
Here’s an idea from Mongo over at BT3:
“ He was indeed an avid bicyclist and was in involved with mountain biking groups, trail maintenance, etc. Back in the day he used to ride down here with one of the other editors from FHB. I'm not a mountain bike guy myself, but WAY back in the day I brought some gear to his neck of the woods and spent a couple of days on the chainsaw clearing trails after the remnants of one of the hurricanes blew through.
NEMBO (New England Mountain Bike Association) might have a way to honor him for his local work.”
Bump
FHB just posted a nice tribute to Andy Engel that's available on YouTube, an amazing carpenter, who had an impact on so many craftsmen...
Thanks,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fiJ8zm2Lk
Please visit this page.
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2022/03/29/remembering-andy-engel
The family hopes you might consider donating to the Housatonic Valley Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, which works to preserve open space and to maintain the trails that Andy enjoyed: HVNEMBA, Memorial Donation, P.O. Box 2221, Acton, MA 01720.
This can also be found here:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/remembering-andy-engel
The Republican American newspaper ( Waterbury, CT ) has published an obit describing a life well lived & a life lived well.......
I meet Andy at JLC Live and was able to stay in touch with him on this site. Just a great guy> Knowledgeable and pretty much always available. A tremendous loss to his family and the Community he was such a vital part of here.
Enjoy your final ride to the peak.
donation link
https://member.nemba.org/donate
from https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/remembering-andy-engel
The family hopes you might consider donating to the Housatonic Valley Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, which works to preserve open space and to maintain the trails that Andy enjoyed: HVNEMBA, Memorial Donation, P.O. Box 2221, Acton, MA 01720.
anyone donating, there's a "in memory of Andy Engel"
then you do need to select HOUSATONIC VALLEY NEMBA chapter
thought people here would like to know
RIP Andy
RIP and be well in eternity. I enjoyed his writing quite a lot.
Really enjoy his article on "I Wish Tools Were More Expensive" and understood totally and made me chuckle and reflect a few times. Was really sad when I got to the end and read the notice of his passing.