Gary Edward Andreassen, 71, formerly of Montgomery Township and more recently of Southampton and Manhattan, New York, died on Saturday, March 4, after a short battle with cancer.
Born on September 4, 1951, Gary was the eldest child of parents Edward and Iola Andreassen. He was a bright student in school and Gary’s two younger sisters always looked up to their big brother. He was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout, a Little League and high school baseball player, a swimmer on the swim team, and a lifeguard at the community pool in Bethpage, NY, where he lived for all of his childhood.
Gary loved music, especially 1960s music. He was a DJ at the campus station of his undergraduate university, the University of Delaware, where he majored in economics. After earning his master’s degree in business administration at St. John’s University, he went on to work in various financial roles at NBC for 13 years. He continued his rewarding career in finance and technology at Digital Equipment, AT&T, IBM, Lucent, CA, CSC and more. Outside of work, he ran multiple marathons and continued running and swimming throughout his life, and he also enjoyed traveling, including to Norway to visit his grandparents and other relatives.
In 1987, Gary was set up with his wife Katherine (née Donegan), on a blind date arranged by his sister and her good friend. They fell madly in love and married a year later in 1988. In 1991 and 1992 he welcomed his daughters into the world and was blessed by them every day of his life. He called them his masterpieces and loved them fiercely. There was never a more devoted husband and father, and they built a happy and loving home together in Montgomery Township (where they lived from 1996 to 2019 and raised their family), New York City, and Southampton.
Gary’s happy place was the beach and swimming in the ocean, even in the cold winter months. For this reason, he fell in love with the Hamptons, and in 1987 he bought his home in Southampton, which became a beloved escape for him and his family for the last 35 years.
Gary met his Maker peacefully and ran straight into the arms of paradise on what would have been his 71st-and-a-half birthday. In addition to his treasured wife, he is survived by his daughters Alexandra and Elizabeth, sisters Janice (Kennedy) and Linda (Hoeberlein), and many in-laws, nieces and nephews, and extended family who will miss him dearly.
In honor of his life, there will be a memorial service at Crestwood Funeral Home at 445 West 43rd Street in New York City from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturday, March 18. Memorial donations may be made to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Gary’s memory. If able, please consider donating blood and platelets to help those who need it.
