A Wonderful Uncle

When you ask me to share a happy memory of Andrew Michael Neiman, known as Uncle Andy to me, it’s extremely hard to think of just one. But a special bond that I had with him was our love of the musical Hamilton. I remember the first time we watched the musical (as a movie on Disney+), and we were all so excited. My dad even had to remind Andy not to sing every song; just for the first time watching it. He tried. Not sure if he was fully able to do that though! After that, we (him, me, Ellie, and my sisters) memorized almost every song from the musical. We had such an amazing time doing it. I always loved how he wasn’t afraid to sing and dance his heart out at any given moment. The best part was that he did it with a sort of flair that only Andy Neiman could do. He would always sing “Andrew Micheal Neiman. My name is Andrew Micheal Neiman. And there’s a million things I’m gonna do. So just you wait!” I hope he got to do all of those things. But even if he didn’t, there’s no doubt that he had some amazing achievements and even more special people in his life. His daughter Ellie, for instance. I could always tell he had an unconditional love for her, and her for him. I also knew how much he cared for Louise. In fact, he cared about his entire extended family. He was a man who was filled with so much love and creativity. Now, when I think about him, I often become sad because I know he has left this world. I hope that his soul has moved on to a happier one. But I know that he would want his loved ones to be happy and cherish the time they did have with him. And while grief isn’t something you can just “move on” from, it is easier to process the grief by giving and receiving love and kindness. I see his mother Lainie doing this so much. She, Emily, and David as well as the rest of the Neimans/Collingers have welcomed us into their family, and we have become so close. I know that Andy would be so happy to see both of his families united through loss and finding so much joy amidst the grief. I will end by saying that I am so thankful to have had my Uncle Andy in my life, and I will never forget his creativity, kindness, humor, great cooking, musical talent, and love.