John Franklin Andrews, 64, went to play drums in heaven for the Good Lord on Wednesday, May 25, 2016. John left this world surrounded by his loving son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Tanna, and cradled in Sonia's loving arms. He miraculously cheated death for 38 weeks, blessing us with precious time to share our love with him and say our final goodbyes. His strength and fortitude during this time was amazing. He showed us such dignity, courage and grace. He touched so many lives in his shortened time on earth and his larger than life personality and ear to ear smile will be greatly missed.
John was born May 17, 1952, to Ellen (Clark) and John George Andrews, joining older sister Margaret. He attended Anaconda High School graduating with the Class of 1971. Itch, as many of his classmates called him, will be missed at their 45th reunion this summer as he always was the life of the party!

John married Betty Lou Lovell in 1975. Together they had three children, Stacey, Mark and Ben. John spoke with enormous pride whenever the conversation turned to his children. He celebrated each of their accomplishments whether he was able to attended them or not. Stacey passing a test, Mark shooting an elk, or Ben running a crane brought a smile to his face and big events like graduations, weddings, and the birth of his grandsons were cause for his chest to swell with pride. He was also proud of Sonia's children and cherished spending time with his step-grandchildren. Gramper John had a soft spot for his children and grandchildren. Every night he kept all of them in his prayers and asked the good Lord to keep them safe from harm.

When John met Sonia Moscolic it was as if God had been saving the best for last for both of them. They had a deep and committed love and were the best of friends which made them such a loving couple. They put each other first and it remained that way until the end. John always being Sonia's strength and reassuring hand; and Sonia always tending to John's every need. He often remarked that "A smelterman's son found a miner's daughter!"
In true John fashion, he asked Sonia to marry him in front of 3000 people at a tail gate party for his beloved Green Bay Packers at the NFL playoff game in January 2008. They married before an even larger group on stage at Art in the Park on July 17, 2009. As a testament to their faith and love, they validated their marriage in the Catholic Church on May 7, 2016. Together they stood faithful to the end, in sickness and in health, and John left this world cradled in Sonia's loving arms.
To say John was a hard-working man would be an understatement! When he lost his father at age14, John started his work career. He went to work as a box boy and picked up any odd job offered. He proudly turned his check over to his mother each week to support them. After graduation, he started finishing concrete and would later pass the trade on to his two sons forming Andrews & Sons Concrete L.L.C. John found great pride in a job well done and you will find his concrete stamp all over Anaconda!
John worked as a stationary engineer for School District #10 for 30 years, spending most of his tenure at Anaconda High. He formed lifelong friendships with the staff and faculty and he earned their love and respect. During that time, he served as his union shop steward for over 19 years. He moon-lighted during this time driving semi-truck, crushing cars on the weekend and of course, pouring concrete.
While John truly enjoyed hard work, his greatest labor of love came from entertaining people with his music. The John Andrews' Band was formed for his 50th birthday party and their last gig was at Alive After 5 just five days before he suffered an aneurysm. However, Art in the Park was the highlight of John's summer and the JAB had a continuous run there from 2002-2015! When the JAB played for a local fundraiser, he was proud yet humbled that his band's name appeared on the same poster with Three Dog Night!
John was a very patriotic man and lived his conviction. Although he was never in the military, he felt he had an unpaid debt to those people who served and to his country as a whole. This was evidenced by his volunteer time for VFW Post 1876 as well as The DAV of Anaconda. He gave several talks on flag etiquette to Anaconda students and was honored to be the Keynote Speaker for The Memorial Day program in 2012. Art in the Park started with the presentation of colors by his friends from Post 1876 at his insistence. John also gave to the youth of Anaconda, as a coach for both Little League and AAU wrestling, serving a stint as local president for both as well.
John enjoyed bowling and was the Anaconda Bowling Association Singles and Team Champion in the same year. He also enjoyed hunting deer and elk with his sons and his friends and their families. He processed most of the meat himself and made and stuffed his own homemade kiebasa. He was a marvelous baker and made many a poviticia and loaf of bread in his day. When John did actually relax it was to dance with his wife, have a beer with the boys, or take to the open road on his Harley Road King with his wife and friends.
John was preceded in death by his parents, former wife Betty Lou Andrews, son, Mark Andrews, and nephew Kimo McNeil.

John is survived by his loving wife Sonia; Sister Margaret (Kim) McNeil; Daughter Stacey (Jason) Jacques, Grandsons Tanner and Kaleb; Son Ben (Tanna) Andrews, Step-grandchildren Drew and Brooke Conrady; Step-daughter Martilyn (Jason) Merideth and their daughter Aurora; Step-son Michael (Marissa) Alexander and their sons Kale and Bo; Sister-in-laws Anne (Darrell) Holm and Rose (Blake) Rice, Brother-in-law John Moscolic, Niece Laurie Ann (Bob) Hermiston, First cousin Danny (Bev) Trbovich, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews; Best friend Gary (Di) Jacobs and Ray (Ellie) Lappin of The 810 Brotherhood!
As a tribute to John and his home-town, blue-collar life, please wear your favorite item of clothing from this list: Green Bay Packers, Boston Red Sox, Harley Davidson, a John Andrews' Band or Andrews & Sons Concrete L.L.C. shirt, any patriotic shirt or simply dress in red, white and blue!
Relatives and friends may call on Friday after 5:00 PM in Holy Family Catholic Church, located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Anaconda. Parish Vigil will be recited at 7:00 PM. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 10:00 am. Rite of Committal will follow in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The John Andrews Benefit Account at First Montana Bank, Highlands Hospice (Butte), or to a local person suffering with cancer.