Calm waters, and a toast to Arguineguín’s happiest, most exuberant guy: The life and soul of Andy Reed.
At the beginning of April 2021 the small, close-knit, coastal community of Arguineguín, on the south of Gran Canaria, lost a gentle soul. Known to many as a “people person”, Andy Reed always thought himself a bit of a comedian. Everyone thought he was funny, he thought he was funnier. He was a funny guy.
A paradox, Andy was born, a child of war, on September 7 1972, but by age 2 he had already found his way into the loving arms of his Norwegian mother and father. Egil, a technician for one of Norway’s biggest oil and gas companies, involved in exploration and production in the Bergen oil fields, and his beautiful wife Berit, who were blessed with an abundance of love. Andy’s arrival brought unbridled sunshine into their home and into their lives.
Deeply adored by Egil and Berit, who wisely invested every drop of their devotion in him, Andy learned all of life’s most important traits; patience, kindness, commitment to truth, loyalty, hard work, compassion, positivity, care for animals and for those less fortunate, Love, and a love for ice cream. A happy family, with all life’s usual challenges to face, they later moved to Fredrikstad.
Though he must have always felt a little different at school, there was never any doubt that he was loved on the most profound level. He also, always, stood out in ways that would set him apart in his future. The warmth and care with which he was raised helped to infuse his early life with a deep sense of connection, purpose and belonging to the universe, on a broader scale than most. He became a staunch and loyal defender of the underdog, and a deeply caring man. A credit to both his parents.
It should be in no doubt that, pretty much all of Egil’s and Berit’s most precious and most treasured memories, of deep happiness and satisfaction, their sense pride and life’s true profit, are thanks to their investment in Andy. He felt it too, writing these words for Egil, on Father’s Day 2016, “You are the best, kindest and most patient dad in the world I admire you, and am very proud to have you as my dad ️ Looking forward to many nice and cool memories together ”
His friends all say he wanted nothing more than for each person he met to be happy. He chased smiles and love and unicorns and rainbows, and believed it was the perfect, immovable right of each and every person to find their own sense of self, to find contentment, and not let this world drag them down. Perhaps it was a product of his own winding journey, to understand who he truly was, that led him to so fervently encourage all those around him to soar, upwards, never to let the weight of the world hold them back, to never fear, and to always trust in angels.
Andy never believed in half measures. If you were his friend, and for Andy every person was a new, long lost friend, he would give you his all, believing that this life must always be approached, by burning bright, every day, acting with the heart of a lion, talking straight, like a silver arrow, and that no subject was taboo. He would be the first to remind you to remember to breathe, and focus on good vibes above all. His positivity was simply contagious.
Andy Reed worshiped the sun, and so chased the sunshine all the way from Norway to the little sunny town of Arguineguín, known round here as Little Norway, to a town named by the prehispanic Canarios of this island, in their native tongue, meaning “calm water”.
Throughout his life Andy burned bright but also sought tranquility and peace, and it was in Arguineguín that he found it, with crystal clear views, from the little apartment he called home, he looks out still, across the calm blue waters of the Arguineguín bay, towards the rising sun, in whom he placed his greatest trust and adoration. Perhaps it was their team kit, or the fact that they hail from The Golden State, that made him so fervent an LA Lakers fan, but he never missed a game, and he proudly wore their colours of golden sunshine.
And I suppose it is in those colours that most will so fondly remember him, and continue to be inspired by him, to make the most of days on the beach, and eat all the ice cream, and raise their glass full and high, to relive those nights that should have never ended, soaking up the golden rays that Andy Reed so brightly and freely emitted back out toward whomsoever in his life needed warming, or cheering or reminding that, in truth, the sun never really sets; we just occasionally spin away from her brilliance, as we bravely cling to this little, moss-covered rock, we call home, hurtling through the infinite cosmos, before spinning back round to face her divine glory once again.
Forever here, blowing a golden kiss through two fingers, his luminance now joins the power of our favourite star, over Gran Canaria, he warms Arguineguín’s calm waters, running just that little deeper now, thanks to Andy Reed.
MASS WILL BE HELD AT 10AM AT THE NORWEGIAN CHURCH IN ARGUINEGUIN ON THURSDAY 15TH APRIL…..FOR THOSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO OUR LOVELY FRIEND Andy Reed THERE WILL BE REFRESHMENTS AFTER THE SERVICE AT THE CHURCH…BUT A REMINDER OF THE CURRENT RULES AND REGULATIONS, ONLY 15 WILL BE ALLOWED INSIDE THE CHURCH, OTHERS MAY STAND OUTSIDE TO SAY A FINAL FAREWELL
