Our Dad's life started and ended in Waikato. Born and schooled in Te Awamutu, his parents Janet and Roy Andrew encouraged him in his studies, then he went to Auckland University to get a B.Sc. He met our mum Mary through her older brother John Gamlen's involvement in Student Christian movement, after she also came to Auckland University two years after Dad.

In his final year they married, and he went to work for the sole employer he stayed with all his life. At that time "Challenge Fertilizer" were at the docks in Penrose, but their firm decided to move the works closer to where the cows and sheep were!! The site outside Morrinsville was chosen for its rail access, and in 1957 we moved into a brand-new company house: now the only house still at that site.

Morrinsville's Knox Church was where our Presbyterian Dad and Anglican Mum agreed we should worship, and I remember a concert where men and teenage boys did the Can Can in full costume! The church also provided my letter of recommendation to Trinity Methodist seminary as a worthy resident (they took in 1st & 2nd-year University students as well as seminarians - to fill the rooms)

Dad was fortunate to work with men like Mick Conroy: a mechanical engineer who taught the scientist in Dad many practical aspects of the business. Dad started out as the chemist checking product and process quality, and ended up as Manufacturing Manager, earning the respect of the work force for his diligence and integrity.

Morrinsville was founded as the natural heart for this farming area, so our Mum and Dad never contemplated living anywhere else when they retired. He became involved in running a Christian bookstore for a few years: it wasn't a profitable endeavor but it was a place where he enjoyed conversing with people! Dad's lively and inquiring mind was such a distinguishing characteristic.

I credit both my parents and the Waikato for grounding me in the right ways. It was Morrinsville's borough engineer who was my Scout Troop leader and at Hamilton Boys High I got an academic education second to none, which was foundational for a career in Engineering that has taken me around the globe.

The remaining immediate family members now live near the Mount (his sister Margaret with her husband Trevor) or near Hamilton (my brother Don, and my sister Heather with Warren Parker, and nearby their many grandkids). So we all say thank you to Morrinsville for its civic works and its church life that so nurtured our Mum and our Dad. Thanks be to God for them, and for you.

by Bob Andrew, 16 June 2008