Monday, May 18, 2026

Monday, May 18, 2026

Today’s post is from Dave Walker. Dave and his wife Terry own the farm where Andy enjoyed many of his “retirement” years. Andy said he always wanted to be a farmer, and he was able to live out his childhood dream at the Walker Farm.

My wife, Terry, and I live on an 80-acre, organic farm in northern Boone County, Illinois. It’s not always easy to find a farmer who is willing to work without chemical pesticides and herbicides in this area. In 2015, we needed a new tenant and met Ron Doetch by acquaintance with his neighbor and our hair dresser as fate would have it. Ron and his wife, Cheri, ran a CSA in Blaine. Renting our land helped them to expand and Ron, with his experience and knowledge, helped us diversify and improve the farm.

A few years later, Ron & Cheri decided to move north to Wisconsin and asked to hand off the operation to a guy from Crystal Lake with no farming experience named Andy Snarski. Ron assured me that he would be there to guide and support Andy along the way. So, we agreed, met Andy, and the lore of Andy as a farmer, and our friend, grew from there.

I admired his fearlessness to tackle this endeavor without experience. There are so many aspects to farming, most of them new to him. Andy was an incredibly hard worker and went to work with conviction and endurance. Though he lived an hour away, he was often here working before I had started morning chores.

My dad bought this farm and we moved here with our boys in 1995. Back then, I had dreams of getting draft horses and farming the place myself someday. Besides raising a family, I spent most of my career just paying for the house and land. By the time Andy came around, I had a team of Belgians, but the vision of farming was farther from reality for me. As Andy did, I would have started with no experience and no equipment. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I got to live my farming dream vicariously through Andy and, like most realized dreams, see the actual challenges. We would often stop and talk about how things were going before I headed off to work. Andy never wavered no matter what set him back. He truly loved doing the work (see the smile below).

He had many, many issues with keeping the farming equipment working. Andy was determined to learn and work through the problems, sometimes struggling with a repair for little too long before calling Ron for help.

Oddly, Andy was afraid of our horses. He was intimidated by their size. But that didn’t stop him from opening their gate for me once in a while.

Andy would always ask before borrowing a tool or whatever, and each and every time put it back where he found it.

He didn’t like working in the cold. One winter, he left the corn standing when the weather turned. The deer loved it.

I often offered him food or drink, but he always declined, saying that his large breakfast (which was always the same each morning) was enough. Not certain but I want to say it was eggs and bacon with bacon jam toast. He was always grateful to receive a gift of bacon jam from the orchard where Terry works.

We talked about many things: kids, dogs, our careers, family, etc. We disagreed on politics, but he was never confrontational or judgmental about it.

He was a man that was true to his word. The year he decided not to farm at a point very late in the Spring, he paid rent regardless. Fortunately, I was able to return some of that.

We knew that beating cancer had changed his thinking. I think he farmed one more season to prove to himself that he could, like a triathlete pushing through the final run. Once it was done, he was ready to spend time travelling with Cindy and seeing the new (at that time) grandchild. Though we missed him here, we are so glad he made that move when he did.

Last June, we had a very pleasant visit with Andy & Cindy on our front porch with a view of the barn and horses. At that time, Andy’s mobility was declining. Staying fit for Alex’s wedding was clearly the milestone that was top of mind. We could tell he knew it was likely his last time to the farm though no one said it. He teared up and we both gave him big hugs with tears of our own. A part of him and his spirit will always be with us and will always be a part of this farm. He had such a brave, determined, and thoughtful soul.

Miss you, buddy! Love, Dave & Terry Walker

Ron driving, Andy standing on the hitch (kids, don’t do this!)