Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews of Levering, MI and Port Mansfield, TX died Saturday, January 28th.  Steve grew up in Gaylord, Michigan, the son of Tracy and Barbara Andrews.  After graduation, Steve entered the US Navy in 1967 as a Hospital Corpsman and subsequently served at the US Naval Hospital on Guam and as a medic with the 1st Marine Division and Marine 1st Force Reconnaissance Company in Viet Nam.  For his actions in combat in Viet Nam and for saving the lives of countless Marines he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and received the Purple Heart.  

Following his military service Steve worked as an entrepreneur and was eventually elected to serve in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing Northern Michigan’s 106th District.  Steve served Northern Michigan for two terms and then turned his efforts to building his family and business.

Steve had a creative gift.  For the subsequent 35 years, Steve worked 7 days a week to build his business from scratch.  Alongside Karen, he was the owner & operator of Sturgeon River Pottery in Petoskey.  He built a thriving operation that would be known as one of the Midwest’s finest retailers and in the process he made friends with hundreds of thousands of customers.  He was greatly honored to have been named Sturgeon River Employee of the Year nearly every year.

Steve was also a dedicated community servant.  In addition to coaching his boys, he coached and served as father figure to thousands of kids in baseball, football and more.  He served on the Board of Trustees of North Central Michigan College and was President of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce.  He was a founding member of Petoskey’s Art in the Park and fed the ‘starving artists’ there for over 25 years.  When the community was in need, they often turned to Steve.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years Karen, sons Dana (Gretchen) Andrews of Petoskey and Kolby (Erin) Andrews of Tyler, Texas, his sister Elsa Andrews Schaller and brother Ben Andrews.  He is also survived by four grandchildren: Lucia, Evelyn, Evan and Owen Andrews.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his younger brother Brad.

All friends are invited to celebrate Steve at a memorial service that will be held at Stafford’s Perry Hotel on Saturday, February 11th, at 4:00pm with visitation from 2-5pm.  A private reception will follow.

Memorial contributions are encouraged and can be made to the Sturgeon River Pottery Fund for Education in the Visual Arts, care of the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, 616 Petoskey Street, Suite 203, Petoskey, MI 49770.  This fund was established by Steve in 1999 to honor his and Karen’s 25th wedding anniversary; it grants funds to local youth art programs.

He was charming and steadfast. He was a servant and a patriot.  He lived life to the fullest.  He never took for granted the fact that he came back while others did not.

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