Andrew Paul Hillier ‘Andy’

“For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while “

Entrance Music: Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day
Welcome
Andy was with Diane for fifteen years and became a loving dad to her daughter Ruth.
He was a cherished brother to Stephan and Sue, a dear brother-in-law to Sue’s
husband Andy, a loving uncle to Stephanie, Lee, Jessica, Abigail, Lucy, Erin and Iona
and a treasured friend especially to Chris and to Ian who dearly wanted to be a bearer
but travel restrictions have prevented him travelling from Scotland. Andy will be fondly
remembered and sadly missed by all those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Remembering Andy
Pamela and Norman welcomed their bundle of mischief into the world on 8 th July 1967
the middle one of three. Pamela remembers when she got him home, Steve said “take
him back now!” Sue described Andy as a lovable rogue, much like his older brother
Steve when they were terrorizing her. She was around five when they were on holiday
in Cenarth, the two boys built a raft across a ditch then instructed her to jump up and
down to see how strong it was. The raft broke and she ended up in a bed of nettles,
they ran off shouting “mum’s gonna kill us” and mum did come to Sue’s rescue but then
gave the lads a clonk!
Pamela laughed as she told me one summer, Andy was playing in the street in shorts
and T Shirt. Someone was having the chimney swept and Andy found a bag of soot
which he threw into the air! It landed on his head and covered him from head to foot. A
neighbour apparently recognised who it was – just from his bright blue eyes peering
through the thick soot, Andy was chasing all the kids in the street pretending to be a
monster and once his mum got him in the house, it took three baths to get him clean!
And as a youngster, he started one year off with a broken leg and ended it with a
broken arm!
They enjoyed many family holidays in Spain and Sue told me Andy used to bury her in
the sand then run off. They went into an ice cream parlour once and the waiter brought
out their ice cream decorated with sparklers. Andy placed what he thought was a spent
sparkler onto the table, but the cloth suddenly ignited! They frantically tried to throw
spoons full of ice cream with squeals of laughter and shock coming from other
customers. As he got older, Andy loved spending time with the family in their caravan in
mid Wales and still went with Diane in more recent times.
Norman’s dad, ‘Grampie’ was the principal cornet player of the original ATC Brass Band
and went on to the Crewe Co-operative. He introduced Steve and Andy to his passion
and taught them both how to play. Andy was just six when he showed a real talent. He

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and Steve played with the Co-operative Youth Band then progressed to senior level.
Andy also joined the Royal Doulton Brass Band and performed in the presence of the
Queen on numerous occasions.
Norman ran them everywhere for band practice and rehearsals. Andy also played solo
coronet for Whitchurch Town, often travelling to France and various other bands
including Tarporley.
He and Steve once played in a film called Bert Rigby: You’re a Fool starring Robert
Lindsay and Robbie Coltrane filmed in Wakefield, not a box office success but an
exciting time for the lads.
Andy was an incorrigible comedian and Norman remembers once when they were
playing at a concert in Widnes alongside a well-known tenor. In the interval, Andy’s
mate Ian was trying to get to the bar, but it was four deep! Andy shoved his way through
and mimicking Ian’s stutter he shouted two WWWWhiskies and three pints of LLLLager!
Ian said two words with ease, and one was OFF!
When Andy left school, he started an apprenticeship in Crewe Works then went on to
work at Rolls Royce. He thought about becoming a pub landlord and then joined the
Railway working as an Overhead Line Erector. Andy loved the comradery of the railway
life and gleefully reminisced to Diane about travelling to Rugby everyday with the lads in
their clapped-out car held together by string. It was a job he loved although he had a
phobia for heights. Diane remembers they took Ruth to London for her thirteenth
birthday and despite his fear of heights, not wanting to let Ruth down, he went on the
London Eye. The whole time he sat in the middle of the capsule with his eyes closed
and his knuckles white from gripping the seat!
After the railway Andy worked for several years as a taxi driver, he was well loved, and
many people have expressed how helpful and amenable he was. He then returned to
the job he loved more than anything, working on the railway. In more recent years, he
went full circle and became a metal machinist again, the trade he learnt as a youth but
sadly the pandemic meant he had to be furloughed in June 2020.
Looking back on Andy’s relationships, he was a good-looking lad and there was no
shortage of girls when he was younger! but he settled and got married although his first
marriage ended in his twenties. He married again but sadly his wife died leaving him a
widower in his thirties. He did find love again and after he and Diane met in 2005, they
had a long-distance relationship for two years until they decided Diane should move
from Scotland to Crewe. Diane told me Andy was struggling with everything at the time
and seeing nothing but a bleak future ahead, he credited Diane with “kissing the
Demons out of his dreams and making his life worth living again.” He proposed to her
on Christmas Day 2008 and planned to marry but could never agree on a venue or
indeed a country! Andy wanted to get married in the village Diane grew up in in
Scotland, but she told him it didn’t matter where. He described Ruth and I as ‘his
Ladies’ and often told Diane she was the love of his life.
Andy became Ruth’s ‘Ad’ when he and Diane got together. She was just five at the time
and when we asked her if she wanted to call Andy Dad or Andy, she decided herself to

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call him Ad. A for Andy and D for Dad and Andy was over the moon. His heart was so
full of love for Ruth and he considered her his daughter. They had an extremely close
bond often getting up to mischief together doing things like snowball fights, chasing
each other up and down the road with water balloons or cuddling up watching zombie
films. Andy was particularly happy when picking Ruth up from school one day, a friend
commented on how much Ruth looked like her Dad.
He was chuffed to bits, but they couldn't believe it when Andy told them they were not
blood related! Andy always longed to be a dad and Ruth taught him all aboutbeing
responsible for a young family and fatherhood.
She often scared the living daylights out of him especially when she decided to try to
walk downstairs with a pair of roller blades on! The colour drained from Andy’s face and
he was tearful at the thought of what could have happened if she had fallen!
Andy taught Ruth to swim and to snorkel and they loved nothing more than going
swimming and playing hide and seek in the water. Andy would always win as he swam
like a fish and could practically swim from one end of the pool to the other without
coming up for air!
Andy particularly loved going to Scotland where he was made to feel at home by
Diane’s mum, he always referred to her as his second Mother and she gave him his
favourite hearty breakfasts and homemade soup. They also enjoyed holidays to Spain
and Disneyland but Andy's favourite holidays were always in the UK, especially the time
he said was one of the best moments of his life when they went to Whitby together and
walked along the beach so in love.
Diane recalled their last holiday on the Island of Mull when they sat outside the tent just
before daybreak. As they watched the sun rise, they both spoke about how perfect life
was and how excited they were about the future. It was bittersweet as Andy suspected
it would be the last one as a family as Ruth was then nineteen and embarking on an
independent life at University. With a wry smile on his face, he commented “she
probably won't want to come on boring holidays with us anymore!”
A common theme about Andy’s character was that he was always the incessant joker
and prankster! He had a razor-sharp memory and always recalled the pranks he used
to play on people at work. I gather most people will remember him as having a
mischievous glint in his eye and a huge smile. He had an addictive personality which
caused people to smile when he was in the room. When Andy worked as a taxi driver,
he would have the most amazing memory for faces and even if he and Diane were in
Asda, she says he would recognise a customer and and remembered where they lived
and how often they got picked up as well as snippets about their life.
That was the endearing thing about Andy, he was approachable, anyone could talk to
him and regardless of what they might tell him, he would never judge or disrespect. He
gave people faith in human nature, so many people confided in him and he made them
feel safe. Andy often had thoughts about changing career and people repeatedly told
him he would make a good carer or nurse.

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In the short time we have it is impossible to portray the facets of Andy’s life. He had
varied interests, he was the founder member of the Crewe and Nantwich Martial Arts
Academy, he loved music and was an avid fan of Greenday fulfilling his lifelong
ambition to see them live. He and Diane had tickets to see them for a fourth time last
June but of course that was cancelled because of Covid.
Andy knew every song by heart and would often sit at night with his earphones on and
the volume cranked up whilst singing along. He even had to apologise to the neighbour
for keeping him awake! Being a comedian form his childhood days, Andy had a passion
for comedy and loved Morecambe and Wise, Laurel and Hardy to name but a few and
apparently, he always wanted to write a book filled with anecdotes. It would have been
a best seller! One of his reassuring sayings was ‘be reet’ whenever there was anything
troubling on the horizon. He played a bit of Rugby and Golf, but not very well it has to
be said!
He also loved animals and was completely besotted with their two dogs Cupid and
Romeo, a rescue dog from Croatia but Andy was convinced he was destined to be an
addition to the family – in fact he wouldn’t thank me for saying but he cried with
happiness when Diane told him the charity had accepted their application to adopt him.
And of course, I need to mention the four cats. Andy called himself the ‘cat whisperer’
as the youngest cat Rocky would follow him wherever he went, never giving Andy a
minute’s peace. Mavis was a foster cat, but they kept her because Andy was
heartbroken that Mavis would feel abandoned again. Any donations in memory of Andy
will be gratefully received on behalf of Action Aid for Animals.

Andy passed away peacefully at  home on 4th January aged just 53 years.

Andrew will be dearly missed but lovingly remembered by everyone who knew him.…

His funeral took place on Thursday 21st January 2021 at Crewe Crematorium