Andrew "Andy" Alan Place

Andrew “Andy” Alan Place of Boyne City, Michigan, passed away at age 69 in Petoskey, Michigan, on February 16th 2026, surrounded by friends and family after suffering an unexpected stroke.

Andy was born on September 13th, 1956, in Petoskey, Michigan at the Lockwood McDonald Hospital to Roderick Place and Patricia (Coleman) Place. The second oldest of five siblings, Andy grew up in Boyne City and he graduated from Boyne City High School in 1975.

He met the love of his life Cynthia “Cindi” Louise Mills at Saginaw Valley College, where he played football and ran for their first Track & Field team and she was a cheerleader. They were married on July 15th, 1978, at the college and a few years later had their first born daughter, Amy Beth, in 1980. Andy graduated from Saginaw Valley College in 1980 with a degree in business and took his first job at Kaden’s Emporium after they moved back north, living briefly at Walloon Lake before moving to their home in Boyne City where they would spend the rest of their lives and welcome the rest of their children - Aaron in 1983, Ben in 1986, and Jesse in 1991. They joined St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Boyne City and were regular members, raising all four children in the Catholic faith.

After a few years of working at Kaden’s then Schaefer Office Systems, Andy opened his own sporting goods store called Harborside Sports, selling running equipment as well as renting sailboards for three years. He was then employed at Honeywell as a government sales contract manager from 1989 until his retirement in 2019. He then worked his first retirement job at Boyne City High School teaching business until he retired a second time in 2024. In his second retirement, he picked up a job at Bearcub Outfitters in Petoskey, where he worked until the day of his passing. He also served as the custodian at St. Augustine Church in Boyne Falls.

When he wasn’t working his day jobs, Andy was busy running and coaching. He ran the Boston Marathon 3 times. He once ran an 8 mile race in Boyne City on the 4th of July and suffered a heat stroke - miraculously making a full recovery and running another race two weeks later. He coached high school cross country and track & field for over 30 years between Boyne Falls and Boyne City schools. He then began coaching Cross Country and Track & Field at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey in 2023. The day before his stroke, he was with his track athletes at practice, looking forward to the upcoming season he would have with them.

One of Andy’s greatest joys in life was found in his grandchildren. He loved driving down to see his oldest grandson Ty Klopf play football, from his middle school games through his college career at Northwood University, and most recently watching his grandson Parker Klopf play basketball. He went to every cross country meet and basketball game of Henry and Theodore Place, and loved spending time in conversation with their youngest brother Norman. He adored his only granddaughter, Ellery Place, often referring to her as his princess, and loved spending time babysitting her and her younger brother Ezra, whom he lovingly referred to as “Bubba”. 

Andy was a beloved friend to many and had a special way of spreading joy wherever he went. His bright blue eyes and warm smile could win over just about anyone. To know him was to love him. He stayed in touch with his fellow SVSU football athletes at their annual “Bunny Hunting” weekend in February, where legend has it no bunnies have actually been hunted for several years as the men have been preoccupied with playing poker. He enjoyed camping with his wife Cindi and they spent many summers visiting parks around the state of Michigan, a few favorite state parks being Young, Interlochen, and Brimley. He also enjoyed trips with her to Rodanthe, the Bahamas, Cozumel, New Orleans, and Hawaii - where they were planning to return for their 50th wedding anniversary in 2028.

On February 13th 2026, Andrew was doing what he loved, working retail at Bearcub Outfitters, when his stroke suddenly occurred, after which he was taken to McLaren Petoskey and found to have a catastrophic bleed in his brain. As a result of the bleed, Andrew suffered severe, non-recoverable brain injury that left him completely paralyzed, unable to speak or move, and would have required life support for the rest of his life on earth - an existence that Andy would never have wanted. At the time of his stroke, he was living a very active retirement with multiple daily walks with his dog Roxy, babysitting his youngest grandson, driving across the state of Michigan weekly to see his other grandchildren at sporting events and to transport his wife Cindi to her cheerleading events. Andrew was also a registered organ donor. To best honor both his incredible life as well as his desire to help others, his family decided to allow him to pass peacefully with dignity after his final act of service to others with Gift of Life organ donation. To the very end, Andy was a gift.

Of all the things Andy was - a faithful husband, a loving father and grandfather; a son, brother, and uncle; a coach and teacher; a co-worker, a church-goer, a helping hand, a listening ear, a kind smile, a beloved friend - he was above all a dearly beloved child of God, a follower of Jesus, and embodied the heart of a servant in everything he did. His great love for his Lord and Savior poured out into every aspect of his life, every person he met, every word he spoke. We rest assured in the knowledge that he is with Jesus now, having completed his final race, and will hear the words ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ (Matthew 25:21).

He is survived in death by countless friends and family, including his wife of 48 years Cindi (Mills) Place; his children Amy Beth (Chad) Klopf, Aaron (Sami) Place, Benjamin (Brian) Place, and Jesse (Jordan) Place; and his grandchildren, Ty and Parker Klopf, Henry, Theodore and Norman Place, Ellery and Ezra Place. He is survived also by his siblings Betsy (Garry) Philips, Patrick (Robyn) Place, Jeanne (Bret) Cone, Nora (Richard) Morbeck, his mother Patricia Place, and his step-mother Barb Farris. He is survived also by his wife’s family with whom he was very close, Dan (Rose) Mills, Karen (Jim) Nitchie, Barbe (Dave) Pressick, Reenie (Tom) Thornton, Larry Moss, as well a large number of nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father Roderick Place, his mother-in-law Nancy (Nagel) Moss, his brother-in-law Frank Mills, and his beloved dog of 10 years Roxy, who passed away at home just days before his stroke.

A visitation will be on Friday February 27th, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 PM. A vigil service will be from 7:00-8:00 PM, where we will have an “open mic” for any loved ones to come and share stories and memories. A formal Celebration of Life Mass for Andy will be held on Saturday February 28th, 2026, at 11:00 AM. Both services will be held at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Boyne City, Michigan, where Andy was a devoted member. In light of Andy’s love for all things Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet, you are invited to wear your brightest Hawaiian shirt or other tropical attire to both services.

To honor Andy, his family has established an athletic scholarship in his name to benefit the Cross Country and Track & Field Programs at North Central Michigan College, where he was a beloved coach. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift in Andy’s memory to North Central Michigan College Foundation, 1515 Howard St, Petoskey, MI 49770. https://www.ncmich.edu/about-us/foundation/donate.html

Arrangements are in the care of Stackus Funeral Home.