In Loving Memory Of My Father, Andy Zandberg

Sorry, man. My condolences to you and your family. I can’t even imagine…

send our condolences to you and your family. If you need to talk or whatever, get in touch with me.

I can’t imagine there isn’t anyone out there who will read this story and not immediately pick up the phone to call their family.

Thoughts are with you and yours

I gotta say
The Canucks beating the damned Hawks made me feel better :)

…but, I still poke my nose in.

Sean…all of my prayers are with you and your family. Your story of your father is much like that of mine. There are moments that it would be kinda cool to share something with Dad…but, he’s been gone for nearly 10 years now.

All the best my friend…I hope he’s catching a brew or two with Luc Bourdon and Rick Rypien…helping those pucks bounce in the right direction for the game winning goal.

My condolences to you and your family Sean.

I’m so sorry Sean. But how lovely he knew you had a little one before he passed away. Have a hug from me. I’m going to the Wings/Canucks game with my pop tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me to give him an extra squeeze. Take care of yourself, honey.

You and your family have my condolences.

In the brief time I’ve been here you’ve struck me as a stand-up dude who has his head screwed on straight; that sort of thing usually speaks to a person’s upbringing and influences. Your pops sounds like a beauty, may he rest in peace. Sticktap.

Hate to hear it as I just had a coworker die after being in a coma for a couple weeks due to a car crash, so I’ve been reminded of that myself. My dad had a heart attack at 27, but thankfully survived, or else I wouldn’t have been born. Now he’s fine (apart from plenty of medication and regular checkups) thanks to a star valve that keeps his heart pumping.

It’s a good time to point out though that February is Heart and Stroke month, so perhaps people wishing to help could donate or volunteer and make a contribution that way.

heartandstroke.com

Thanks Sean for sharing so beautifully your memories with your father. I am sure that it will take a long time before it really sinks in that he is gone forever.
My parents and I live on two different continents (Europe, America) and see each-other every two years.
It’s really hard.
Whe we visit them in Hungary, my mother is already crying on the first day, because she is thinking about the day when we leave.

It already happened a few times. while driving home from work, I imagined that I received the dreaded phone call, the same you received. It took me a while to stop crying, at the wheel.

I wish I had the same relationship with my father. He is still alive, but I have been living on my own since I was 15. Not for lack of love, but because of the political climate in the 70s, behind the iron courtain. So, I never got to know him “man to man”. He still sees me as his kid (and I am 50 already). I sometimes wish that he would see me as a grown-up father instead. May be it’s too late.

Life is so fragile, and sometimes everything changes in an instant. God bless you and your family.

Sorry to hear this Sean. Condolences.

Wonderful piece, Sean. Really touching. Too bad it had to come from such a terrible event.

Thanks for writing this. He sounds like a great man, and father. Thoughts are with you.

And good advice. Hopefully a lot of loved ones got unexpected phone calls today.

I lost my dad in 2006 and it’s still hard, in some ways I hold on to that pain because that’s part of what keeps him alive in my heart. More recently a friend of mine took his own life and here’s what I’ve learned in the last month or so. Do what you need to mourn. Don’t feel you need to be strong for anyone because it’s times like this that we lean on each other to hold each other up. Don’t falsely stand tall, be willing to lean in. It has to happen eventually. I’m not just paying lip service when I say I wish you all the very best.

and thoughts with you and your family

but I can tell from reading that excellent tribute to your father that you two shared many meaningful moments. This is what will give you comfort in the long run, but remember there’s no timetable on grieving. We all hit an age (I’m well past it) where we start to experience situations that remind us of our mortality and those of our loved ones.

In many cultures, it is important to grieve a death like this with many stories, both happy and sad, shared by those who loved him. I hope you can do that – it sounds like there are many stories about Andy Zandberg that need to be shared.

You have a loving army of support here.

I am so sincerely feeling for you Sean. Funny for a guy I never have looked in the eye, about a man I did not know…but it is always a shock when these things happen.

Chin up Sean, remember the good time…

my condolences, Sean.

Sorry to hear this, man. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

And now that I have read this (I wanted to offer condolences first), may I add that this is a beautiful tribute to what sounds like a very loving father. I’m glad Sean that you got to have so many good times, especially those you had together more recently. And you are totally right when you say that we cannot take the people close to us for granted and that we should make sure to cherish them for as long as they are in our lives.

Thanks for sharing this tribute.

And thank you for sharing your memories of your father with us. Not going to lie, it made me teary eyed.

I can definitely relate to your story about how your dad was running around with the little guy at christmas even after all he has been through. My grandpa turns 90 in April, he’s had a heart-attack (at 60) and colon cancer and he still runs around with the great-grandchildren when they visit :) I am hoping my dad will be the same way with my nephew (he is so far) and my kids if I have any in the future :)

I also lost my dad to a heart attack eight years ago so I can definitely relate with the sudden horror and disbelief. It sucks not to have that goodbye. Then again, if he’s like you, he’s already at the spiritual bar. Cheers to him, his life and his family (and their pristine hockey beliefs!)

Like many of us here, I too lost my dad, at 18 to brain cancer. Part of what makes remembering him so hard was/is also remembering when the illness was wasting him away.
Your father sounded like he lived a full and rich life, and I’m sure he’s driving his tractor with Johnny Cash by his side, handing our sage advice like all fathers do. Time doesn’t make the pain go away, but you do embrace it and use it to make yourself a better person towards your own family.

raises glass In salute to Andy Zandberg!

I felt very privileged to read your tribute. Your admonition to pick up the phone and connect is so true.
You made me cry with my own memories of the father I lost two years ago. He was also a Leafs fan and I’ll never forget the 1967 Stanley Cup and his joy. He grew up in the dirty Thirties in Pictou County, NS and times were tough. He told us kids about playing street hockey with sticks and the pucks were horse droppings (in winter, obviously frozen, lol). He taught me the rules of the game, he passed on the love of it! So, still fond of the Leafs, but a passionate Canucks fan now, I credit him with my love of the game and with so much more.
Thank you so much for sharing and I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Charlene

Was pretty stunned when you broke the news to me bro. Have a safe and good trip down south, say hi to the clan on my behalf, and I’ll catch up with you when you get back.

Onward o7

When we lose loved one, or face adversity we realize how important family is. All my best for you and your family Sean.

I’m so sorry to hear about your dad, Sean. My pops also passed away from a sudden heart attack. I was 27 and had just gotten to the stage you described about getting to know and accept one another as plain old human beings. We could sit in the pub together over a couple of pints of lager and have a good-natured debate/argument about politics, cars, sports — always with a side-order of Monty Python references. As you wrote so eloquently, those kinds of memories are especially cherished and I know that you and your family will always draw strength from them.

Take care, get some rest and we’ll see you back here soon.

he sounds like a wonderful man.

I think it’s a good thing that you’re talking about it here, and that others are sharing as well. A few years ago I lost all 3 grandparents in one summer, and I thought it would be better to keep my feelings inside. It just made it harder. Talking about your loved ones, and sharing those wonderful memories, is so much better. Keep those memories alive.

All the best to you Sean, and everyone else here.

Sounds like he was one of the good guys… Isn’t coming to the realization that maybe your parents were right about alot of things, and still feeling enough respect from them to let them know they were wrong about a couple too a great feeling? I’m glad you got the opportunity to reach that point with him and that he expressed his pride to you.

As someone else said, stick-tap.

I can only imagine the pain a sudden and unexpected loss such as this can bring. My and my family’s thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.

My wife’s grandmother is in bad shape. God bless her, she is 94 and just refuses to give in. It’s been particularly rough on my wife as Honey (her nickname) was more of a mother to my wife than grandmother. She has a large tumor in her lungs and her lungs are filled with fluid. Due to her age, there is little they can do but make her as comfortable as possible. Initially, she wasn’t supposed to make it to Thanksgiving. Then Christmas. No way she’ll make it to the new year, etc. Well, my mother-in-law phoned this afternoon. The hospice nurse had come by to check on bube and said it was only a matter of hours now and gave her some morphine.

Although we knew this day was coming for some time, it still hit us like a ton of bricks. No one can ever truly prepare themselves for the loss of a loved one.

Thanks all for sharing and for the support. It has made a hell day much better. You all kick ass!
Feel free to keep sharing. I think these things can help a lot of people, even the many who don’t leave comments at NM, as we are seeing in this thread.
Thanks again!
I’ll be offline for a bit to travel down to Kamloops tomorrow and spend time with the fam. But I’ll check in on occasion.

Sorry to hear about your dad. He sounds like he was a very important part of your life.

but the eternal optimist in me saw one part that made me think: everything’s going to turn out okay.

And life comes full circle. Now I tease my little son Liam like my dad used to tease me. I am going to be open, honest, firm and fun with him like my father was to me, through good times and bad times.

I’m confident you will be able to provide for little Liam like your dad did for you. Really, I can’t imagine higher praise than to be

I lost my mom due to a stroke very suddenly many years ago, so I can relate.
I found that the grief and hurt fades, but never quite goes away. The scar it leaves makes you a stronger, deeper, and more complete person, I think. Hang in there.

He sounds like he was a great guy

Thinking of you and your family in this difficult time.

tonights games seem a little less significant. Wonderful musings. Loved the driving the Cutlass and reaching back and whacking you! Absolutely love it – brings back fond memmories. I can just hear you now Sean, “He started it!”

i recall when my dad passed away I was the first to arrive at my parents house. My brother bob was second and when our eyes met, we began to sob uncontrollably. Emotions we knew nothing of poured out like a summer thunderstorm.

Hope you have a lot of momnets when youir just driving along in the car and break down when a memory surfaces. Although I can still remember my dad saying "Stop crying or I’’ll give you something to cry about.

Thoughts and prayers are with you my hockey brother.

I’m going to shoot you an article called The Little Green Box" that I wrote about my dad -

I don’t post too often at all, but some things just hit you hard, and you got me thinking on what’s going to happen when my dad passes.. I already miss him so much, being one of the few Canuckers out here in Denver with my family back in Kitchener, ON..

Your dad sounds like the quintessential dad: fun, funny, smart, “the boss” at times but so generous and loving. I know times like these are tough, but I know you have way too many happy memories of him to ever let him go. He’s gone, but he’s not, you know? Cherish those memories, and you’ll honour him every day.

i hope when i am gone my son’s can say such nice things about me your dad sounded like a good man

my condolences.

to get over this and you are always going to miss your dad but I hope this post and maybe some other writings and pictures will help you to always remember and cherish your father. You have my condolences as well. Remember that without darkness we’d have no light. Without death we’d have no life. And while it is incredibly sad to lose a loved one it’s necessary to lose them in order to have ever had them in the first place.

Go out to you and your family, Sean. May your father RIP.

I must tell you that I sincerely enjoyed reading about your father and the relationship you shared with him. Even though my parents, family, culture and upbringing probably couldn’t be any further and different from yours, I could still relate. Interesting huh?

Also, thanks for reminding us to cherish the moments with family as much as we can. To verbally express our love and emotions with our loved ones while we can, because life is borrowed and may be taken from us in an instance and without prior notice.

I’m certain your father is in heaven enjoying himself as he knew how. My prayers will be with you and your family and thanks again for sharing.

Oh man, so sorry to hear about this, Sean. He sounded like an amazing dad and person in general. Thoughts are with you and your family.

I don’t know if you’re still checking this. But I’ve been thinking about you, and hope you’re doing okay, and taking/giving comfort to your family.

I loved your stories about your dad.

I know you wanted us to share stories of our own fathers, so I spent some time thinking about my dad, but it’s now almost 2 weeks later and I still don’t quite know what to say about him. He’s not a bad guy at all, but he’s a depressed diabetic who refuses all help and won’t take care of himself, and I never know how to reconcile that with the person who took such good care of us when my sister and I were kids. I kind of know that the reason I never know the right thing to do for him is because there is no right thing; he’s an adult and he’s made it clear what his choices are and that he wants everyone to leave him alone. But I never quite believe this, and I keep trying and hoping that I will stumble across the magic word that will make him care about himself again.

Anyways, the memories from the early years are all good, and I suppose that his life will not be defined by the way it will probably end. And I am very lucky in that Mr. Pseu’s parents are wonderful, and that my child is wonderful, and that we all have so many different kinds of opportunities to build and enjoy families in our lives.

I’m positive your dad was very, very proud to have you as his son, and that you did right by him.