Andrew Thomas Tershak

Andy Tershak was the oldest in a trio of brothers born to Andrew and Albert Tershak in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They were kind, loving, smart men who cared deeply for their families. Brothers Richard and Carl died too young, and Andy missed their friendship. Andy died on August 25th in Aiken, South Carolina at the age of 83 from an extended illness. Left to mourn the loss in his immediate family are his wife, Carol, his son, Andrew Paul, daughter-in-law, Katy, and grandchildren, Andy Karl and Barbara. His daughter Susanne died on August 26, 2023 and surely was waiting to greet him.

Andy was never afraid of hard work and valued his colleagues and the many friends he made starting early in life. While attending Sacred Heart Parish Grade School he would run errands for some of the older women in his neighborhood. He shared with chagrin the associated memory of one of his favorite errands to the grocery which included picking up a pound of grapes that he would help himself to generously on his return delivery. In his more responsible teens, he worked at a neighborhood gas station, a job his brothers would also take on in their teen years and stayed close enough to the owner that he made sure to introduce his fiancé when she made her first trip to Wilkes-Barre.

Andy was by education an electrical engineer who developed into a well-respected manager in the field of vending machine manufacturing. Always a good student, Andy worked his way slowly up the academic ladder. His hope was to obtain a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, but put that goal aside after a year in a doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma to become Mr. Mom while his wife pursed her Ph.D. At the time this role was still a novelty and gained some local attention and jibes in Evansville, Indiana, the family's home at that time.

Andy enjoyed new opportunities, loved people and worked for several major companies during his career. The moves over 60 years brough him and his wife time well-spent in St. Louis, Missouri; Toledo, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; Stillwater, Oklahoma; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Des Moines, Iowa; and Aiken, South Carolina. Along the way Andy and Carol particularly enjoyed the food, music, art, nearby sights and friendships each city provided. But favorite foods were always Andy's mother's Slovak cooking and the welcome home meal on each visit of her special hamburgers, potato salad, and chocolate cake.

Though Andy was a man who would have loved to keep working until his dying breath, he genuinely appreciated his recent caregivers at the Barclay at Whiskey Road, at Anchor Post Acute and from Gentiva Hospice and the ministers who visited from St. Mary's Help of Christians in Aiken.

Burial will be scheduled at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Dallas, Pennsylvania, next to his parents and daughter. The family appreciates the prayers and supportive words offered by all.

SHELLHOUSE - RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC