Obituaries

Alois “Louie” Andermatt passed away quietly on Sunday morning, January 12, 2014 at the age of 88. He was born to parents Josef Andermatt and Maria Scherer on May 4, 1925 in Merenschwand, in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland.

He leaves behind his wife of 55 years, Brigitte Muench Andermatt. He was a devoted father to daughters Christine Freedman of Camarillo and Judith Andermatt Adeni of Fremont and father-in-law to Howard Freedman and Kaiser Adeni. He was a proud Papa of six grandchildren: Nathan Freedman (with wife Alexandra), Julianne Gavin (with husband Trevor), Aaron Freedman, Anika Adeni, Kelsen Andermatt Adeni, and Sonja Adeni. Last October, he became a great-grandfather when Ali Michelle Gavin was born. He also leaves behind his siblings in Switzerland: Josef, Leo, Hans (Pater Eugen), Agnes, and Alfred and numerous nieces and nephews, all in Switzerland and Germany; and his cousin Martin Blaser of Washington.

After growing up in a small farming community and fulfilling military duty in Switzerland, Louie immigrated to Canada. There he met and married Brigitte, who had come from Germany. Together, they explored their new homeland from coast to coast, settled in Newfoundland, and had two daughters. Louie embraced being a Canadian, acquired a lifelong fondness for hockey, and became an enthusiastic Montreal Canadiens fan. But the allure of the sunny west and a vibrant young democracy was strong (as well as the promise of steady employment), and so the Andermatt family packed up and moved to San Jose in 1963, just weeks before the assassination of President Kennedy. Louie loved the length and breadth of the United States: wide open roads, vast and varied geography, the weather offering a perfect background for any activity, and the fruitfulness of the land. He eagerly harvested the best Bing cherries on Tifton Way for many years. He also continued to follow hockey whenever he could, becoming a fan of the California Golden Seals and later, the San Jose Sharks.

Louie worked proudly for Ford Motor Company for almost 25 years, retiring in 1990. He and Brigitte traveled abundantly in the years that followed. He was a loyal parishioner of Church of the Transfiguration for 50 years. He was strong and robust until a stroke in 1999, and then he spent more time at home, gradually relinquishing his wanderlust to the infirmities that befell him. Rest in peace and love, dear husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Friends are invited to a memorial service at Church of the Transfiguration, 4325 Jarvis Avenue, San Jose, CA 95118 at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 1, 2014. The family respectfully requests that you enjoy a bite of delicious Swiss chocolate in his memory.