Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Today’s story is told by Dave Wonnenberg, close family friend and witness to: “Andy’s Wild Ride.” Let us begin with a picture (scroll down to the picture with Andy sitting solo, smiling, his hair still wet): To Andy’s family, in particular those of you who would lovingly refer to him as Grandy (and Great Grandy and beyond, for our future readers), I would like to bring to your attention the life within the smile of that man in the picture.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Good morning, Andy’s Army. This is Nick. I’m number seven in the Snarski siblings, the youngest of five boys—born just three years after the triplets to a mother with six kids. What was Mom thinking? Or Dad?! Being the youngest boy, I had four older brothers to show me the ropes growing up. By the time I was about 12, I joined my brothers working in our family liquor and dry goods store, Ratajacks, which opened back in 1913, if I remember right.
Sunday, May 10, 2026
ALS United River Swim Auction Hello friends, family, and followers! This is Alex writing to you about an ALS United auction I went to yesterday for the Chicago River Swim. I went to the auction alone yesterday, and after a 2.5 hour drive to the city I get to the restaurant and realize that I’m at an event where I don’t know a single person lol, Sarah Brandt from ALS United invited me, and I had only talked to her through email up until then.
Friday, May 8, 2026
Today’s post is from Nikki The sea of blue flags overlooking the Washington Monument on the National Mall is incredibly powerful. This morning, Zack and I walked through the ‘I Am ALS’ display of 6,500 blue flags overlooking the Washington Monument. Each flag honors someone living with ALS or someone we have lost to the disease. Every story is unique. Every journey with ALS looks different. And behind every single flag is a community of family and friends rallying around them with love and support.
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Today’s post was written by Nikki May is ALS Awareness Month. It is also budget season on Capitol Hill, which made this an especially meaningful time for the ALS delegation to gather in Washington, DC. Representatives from ALS organizations across the country came together to advocate for legislation that supports ALS research, treatments, expanded care access, and continued federal and Medicare funding. This year, there were nine small groups of ALS United representatives participating in more than 50 meetings with Congressional Offices.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Today’s post is from Cindy. How the Bracelet Brigade Was Formed Many of us wear Andy’s Army, F ALS, or Team Andy bead bracelets. They’re more than accessories—they’re small, visible reminders that Andy did not fight ALS alone. When he saw friends and family wearing them, he felt it immediately: the love, the solidarity, the strength of Andy’s Army. It started simply. Alex’s fiancée at the time, Nicole, had taken up bracelet-making as a hobby—something to do while unwinding in front of the TV.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Today’s post is from Trisha Zarnikow. Trisha and her husband are lifelong friends of Cindy’s. NYC Adventure My husband Paul and I spent two weekends in NYC with Cindy and Andy, enjoying every minute. On this particular trip, Central Park was a must. A perfect summer day, good friends, the endless people watching offered in the park, all added up to the ideal NYC experience. Before long we found ourselves down by the boathouse, watching the row boats drifting across the lagoon.
Friday, May 1, 2026
Hi everyone, This is Lis again, the eldest sibling. Andy had, from time to time, written about his years growing up. I’ll pick up a little on that thread. I’m sure others will have different, and likely more interesting, recollections, but here goes. There is a 4 year age gap between Andy and me. As an adult, 4 years now seems like nothing. As a child, it was huge, especially when there are 4 other siblings contained within that gap.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Hi everyone, This is Carrie, another Waukegan high school friend 😊. Well, you might be surprised to read that when I first met Andy, he barely said a word! He sat behind me in our sophomore year Geometry class and he was actually shy. I’m not sure when that changed but it did and once he started talking there was no stopping! In fact many times during our high school days in the 70’s when the gang was hanging in my family’s basement, you could find Andy upstairs chatting with my parents!
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Hi Andy’s Blog Readers! I’m Maria - Andy’s youngest sister and I am today’s guest writer with a little ditty or two about Andy. As the youngest child of eight and being five years younger than Andy (and Tom and Tim, of course), I was not very close to the triplets growing up. Five years is a huge difference in grade school. By the time I was in first grade, Andy was in Junior High.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Today’s post was written by Chris Morgan. Andy and Chris became friends in high school and remained friends throughout his life. Hi Everyone- My name is Chris Morgan. I’ve known Andy since freshman year of high school (1974). It’s hard to believe it’s been 52 years. Kind of crazy. I want to build on what our friend Bill Brolley shared in his recent post on Andy’s blog. I will always cherish the memories of our Waukegan High School days.
Monday, April 27, 2026
Today’s post is from Sandy Gervais, a former classmate of Cindy’s and long-time family friend. Andy Snarski was a man who wore many hats. In fact, it makes me smile just thinking about it. Ventures: A stand out memory, was after he left Mosiac. He and Cindy got together with some friends who had an organic farm, and Andy decided that would be his next adventure. Of course, he jumped in with both feet, tractor, rusty pickup and all!
Monday, April 13, 2026
Today’s post was written by Kathy Birkland, a college friend of Andy’s. It was August of 1983, I was 19 years old and had just transferred to Northern Illinois University to begin my sophomore year. I didn’t know many people, and starting over felt overwhelming. My boyfriend at the time was Andy’s roommate, so that’s how I first met Andy. I still remember it so clearly— he greeted me with one of his giant “Andy hugs”, a huge smile and about a hundred questions because he genuinely wanted to know me.
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Happy Masters Sunday everyone. I hope all you golf fans are enjoying watching the Masters this weekend. If Andy were here he’d be sitting on the couch with a can of Virginia peanuts and watching the Masters. And later in the afternoon he’d crack open an IPA to go with the peanuts. He rarely watched TV during the daytime hours, but he made an exception for the Masters. In 2024 Andy won four tickets in the Masters lottery.
Friday, April 10, 2026
Many thanks to Robyn Drew for sharing the following story. Robyn is another of “the roommates” from NIU. In the photo below, Brad and Dave are in the famous golf cart and Andy and Jim are standing on the back. “How lucky are we?” This is a recurring phrase said over and over by our Northern Illinois University friend group. Over the years, we realized just how lucky we truly were to find each other.
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Cindy here. Many thanks to Tyanne, one of Andy’s college friends for sharing the following story. The college friends are known simply as “the roommates” but sometimes I refer to them as Andy’s College Army. Whatever we call them they are a very special group of people and FFL … friends for life. Andy came into our lives during our sophomore year of college, and from the very beginning we just clicked.
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Hello followers! I’m Rick Keffer, high school friend of Andy’s and a classmate since fifth or sixth grade. One of the many things I loved about Andy was that he wasn’t afraid to step up and lend a hand. I can think of a lot of examples but one that stands out is our quest for tickets to see the Grateful Dead in the spring of 1977. For younger folks reading this, I need to explain how the concert ticket process worked back in the day.
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Today’s post is from Anne Marie Beckwith, a friend of Cindy’s. I have been friends with Cindy since our Motorola days and I knew back then she was not married. When we no longer worked together we kind of lost touch, as often happens. One day quite a few years ago I saw her at the Jewel in Crystal Lake with a guy. I am thinking now this was early in her relationship with Andy because it was a long time ago.
Friday, April 3, 2026
Today’s post was written by our niece, Maddie Fox. May 31st 2025 is a day that probably sticks out to a lot of readers, the day of Uncle Andy’s party at Illinois Beach Resort. That day will always live in my memory as two moments intertwined. On one hand, you have a day filled with celebration, and the other with quiet, life changing news that I wasn’t ready to share yet.
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Today’s post is from Dave Moritzen, a high school friend of Cindy’s. Good afternoon all, My name is Dave Moritzen. I live, as Cindy and Andy would say, in the Frontier of North Central Wisconsin. Cindy and I met ‘back in the day’ when we were high school classmates in Crystal Lake. We knew of each other in high school but we weren’t what I call friends. After graduation, we both went our separate ways.