Tuesday, April 28, 2026

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. When I went through our yearbook recently, it made me smile and laugh out loud seeing the pictures and reading about our goofy times together and the loving messages we wrote to each other. Andy took me to Homecoming as a friend. Only a true friend could take a friend to a dance and not expect anything more than friendship. That is how our whole group was. True friends that had each other’s back. And that never changed.

When Bill texted us about Andy’s diagnosis, the news hit us all very hard. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in some time because, you know, life gets busy with families and jobs. However, when Bill asked us if we could get together with Andy, literally within 10 minutes we all replied YES, we’d absolutely love to get together.

Although ALS SUCKS, I do not believe Andy’s illness was for naught. In fact, it brought us all back together. It reignited our friendship group and reminded us how important our friendship was back then and still is. I will forever treasure all that Andy gave us as he battled this shitty disease. He showed us how precious life is and how you shouldn’t take it for granted. Andy will forever be in my heart and I will always smile when I think about our past, and I will also treasure all the gifts he gave us after he was diagnosed with ALS. 

F ALS, but remember the valuable lessons Andy taught us - to appreciate the precious moments and the precious people in our lives.

In the group photo below, you’ll recognize Andy in the shorts and blue shirt. That’s me in the other blue shirt. I’ve included some old school pictures of Andy and his message in my yearbook.