A Sad Day For The Hero Family

[Sketchpad]

Holy crap! I just don't know what to say ... I didn't know Andy well, but I had the opportunity to work with him and enjoyed conversations I had with him. My sympathies to his family and friends ... Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

[Ternaugh]

My condolences to his family and friends. He will truly be missed.

JoeG

[yamamura]

My sympathies to his family and friends and I am sadden to have never met him.

[gypsyav]

I never had the opportunity to meet Andy in person but he was one of the best friends I've ever had, online or off. He was always there when I needed someone to talk to and could usually cheer me up just by being himself.

I just don't have the words to say how much I'll miss this wonderful man and how much I all ready miss him. We used to argue about which of us was the other's minion but I always felt he was my superior in many ways.

He would always say how much of a better writer I was but the truth is he was a far better writer than he gave himself credit for and when I found something he had written waiting for me in my inbox or online I could never wait to read it.

My condolences go out to Lynn, Tim, and Mack, they have lost someone who truly loved them, and to all his friends.

There will never be any else like you, Andy. Know you will never be forgotten.

[gamerz123]

My condolences.

[teh bunneh]

With DOJ's kind permission, I've started a Remembrance thread for Andy.

[Aaronymous]

Andy was good, and kind, and talented, and humble. The kind of person who you hear about, but don't really believe exists. I only had the privilege of knowing him for a little over a year now, and I am envious of those of you who had the privilege of meeting him, and working with him.

I'm so sad and sorry for his family, and his co workers, know that your grief is shared by everyone who knew him.

Rest well, Andy. The brightest flame burns out the fastest.

[Lord Paragon]

In an often dark world too void of sincere joy and that rare quality our fathers and grandfathers referred to as gentle goodness, we now find it a little darker.

The brief year that I came to know Andy was brightened simply by knowing him.

Game on Minister of Excellence. Game on.

[BNakagawa]

I feel awful for his family, his friends and our little community. It's always a tragedy when someone has to die so young, doubly so for an artist who should have had a lifetime of wonder to share with everyone.

[concord]

My condolences to his family and friends... he will be missed.

[tkdguy]

My prayers and condolences to all.

[Worldmaker]

I've known Andy for a long time, but even as long as it's been, it doesn't seem long enough. He was the kind of friend who didn't seem to mind spending all night with me to talk me down from my latest crisis, or spend just as much time talking to me celebrating my latest triumph. And I'm going to miss that. I already do.

[tkdguy]

Jack Butler wants to express his feelings. He asked me to share his post from the nogadi boards:

I'm sure you have all heard already, but for those who haven't, Andy Mathews passed away this morning.

Andy was, and will ever remain, one of my best friends. He's been one of my best friends for almost twelve years now. Aside from Alesia and China, he's one of the few people active on this site who I've met face to face, and throughout our friendship he's always been there when I needed a friend.

When my youngest son was recovering from surgery, it was Andy who talked to me about the joys and pains of fatherhood. When my father was diagnosed with what was, at the time, thought to be terminal cancer, it was Andy who talked to me all night long about life and it's meaning and our place in it. When Becky left me out of the blue and it seemed like the entire fucking world was about to land on me, he was the one who talked me out of the bottle of pills and the bottle of bourbon.

I don't know how to deal with this. I truly have no idea how to process this. I'm stopped. My entire world is stopped right now because my friend will no longer be there to talk to, or joke to, or plan things with.

It hasn't really sunk in yet that I can't just pick up my phone and talk to him anymore. I wonder when it ever will.

I'm taking a break for a little while. I'll be back... I just can't deal right now. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

[Thag13]

I never met Andy,but I have heard a lot of folks speak very well of him and I am sorry for thier loss.

And after reading his blogs I am truly sorry I will never meet him now.

A sad day for Hero Games fans.....

[James Gillen]

Steve Long gets a lot of credit for bringing Hero Games back from the brink (and rightly so), but Andy Mathews had a great deal to do with making the company what it is today. A lot of the things we think of when we hear "Hero Games" can be laid at his feet. I'm sorry now that I didn't say so publicly more often. He deserved to hear it.

I couldn't agree more.

JG