LIBERTY — The life spirit of Alden Kirk Andrews left this earth in the early morning of March 12 with a guitar in one strong hand and a LEGO starship that he had built for his son, Hunter, in the other. His body followed on March 14 after a valiant fight to stay with us. It was a tragic event on the back roads of Liberty that caused the demise of a very good, loyal family man who was only trying to walk home from a friend’s house that night.

Alden is survived by his son, Hunter James Andrews of Belfast; mother, Melissa Scholz of Rockland; and father, Paul Andrews of Ohio; brothers, Evan Andrews and Tobias Andrews of Rockland; grandparents, Ruth Nelson and Eizo Nishiura of Merrimacport, MA; Max Scholz and Lavana Snyder of Camden; his partner, Kendra Vinal and her sons, Adrian and Mason of Liberty; step-grandmother, Dorothy Andrews, of Apex, NC; the mother of his son, Danielle Goss (Shane) and her daughter, Lillian of Belfast; uncles and aunts, Mark Scholz, Sam Scholz and Ellen Taylor, all of Amesbury, MA; John Scholz and Kathy Croyle of Newton, NJ; step-aunt and uncle, Moriko and Peter Betz of New York, NY; cousins, Barbara Cody of Sebastian, FL; Abigail and Issac Tecosky of Brooklyn, NY; Nino and Carly Esile of Newburyport, MA; Spencer Scholz of Chicago; Lucy Scholz (Johnny Hunts) of Junction City, Oregon and Samantha Betz of New York, NY; and last, but certainly not least, his beloved dog, Everdeen.

He was predeceased by his grandparents, James and Mary Andrews of NC; and aunt, Margaret Andrews, of Euclid OH.

Everything Alden did as a firstborn, loving son, dedicated father, inspirational elder brother, supportive grandson and caring partner – he did with gusto.

Alden was born in Philadelphia, while his family lived in Cape May, NJ, where he learned to crab and love the ocean. His family moved to Morrill, ME when he was 4 years old. He had many childhood memories of raising chickens and turkeys, roaming the woods there on his family’s homestead. Later moving to Northport and then Belfast, he had a crew of skatepark lifelong buddies. Alden had his own D.J. turntables before it became the vogue, got his first electric guitar when he was 11 years old and never stopped playing. Alden could draw a mean Optimus Prime for Hunter as well a political cartoon series.

Alden attended school in Morrill and Belfast, as well as auto tech courses in Cleveland, OH.

Alden was just growing into the wonderful man he was after many life adventures and mishaps. He was very proud of his trade abilities, laying the cement foundation and walls for the new Middle School in Camden and working on remodeling the home he and Kendra shared. He was so happy to drive his Subaru (old Betsy) which he took to the carwash every Saturday. He would then drive Grandma, Toby and Hunter to the Rockland library and playground on Saturdays. When the car started, Hunter would ask him to blast “PsychoSocial” by SlipKnot.

Alden was a great friend and support to many in the Recovery Community in Portland and the Midcoast. He had been down that long dark tunnel, too, but was able to overcome such obstacles and become the inspirational human we all came to know him as. With great pride, we watched Alden enjoy the light of life at the tunnel’s end as a man with pride, dignity, and strength. There was nothing Alden wanted more than to share that new life with others so that they too could enjoy what was amazing, and possible, through the battle for Recovery.

Alden was the kind of man who could get a winter’s worth of stove wood into his mother’s basement and stack it just right – in one day; help friends who were desperate in Recovery and needed a listening ear because he had been there too; riff an original blues song on his guitar and then climb the monkey bars with Hunter at the playground. He learned to sail when he was 9 years old out of Rockport Harbor and enjoyed diving from the highest mast spar of the Schooner Audacity in the Bard Islands. Alden loved snowboarding on Ragged and Squaw mountains, as well as ice-skating any frozen pond. Any cityscape was a skateboard park for him.

For Alden joy was time spent with his son Hunter, who gave him the biggest, best hug the very last time he saw him. He was a natural engineer and got his first intricate LEGO set at 4 and never stopped building LEGOS thanks to Hunter. The Owls Head Transportation Museum was a favorite haunt for him and his grandfather, Max. Alden was a born diplomat and was always trying to bring his far-flung family closer together, to his heart, especially when life-events were driving us apart.

Hunter’s birth was the most amazing day of his life and he always strove to be a good father. Alden’s family would like to thank from the bottom of their hearts all the kind people who tried to save Alden’s life: the angel who stopped when he found Alden’s crumpled body after he was hit by a Peterbilt tractor with a tandem trailer, whose driver left him by the side of the road. The Waldo County Sheriff’s Dept. and the Liberty Rescue Squad answered the call and brought him to Waldo County General Hospital ER, where he was Life Flighted to Northern Lights EMMC.

The heroic Trauma Team there, along with the ICU Nursing Staff, who tried desperately to save him, were exceptional. We especially appreciated his last nurse, Naomi, who helped us to be with him peacefully before and after he died.

Alden is with us when we hear his favorite songs, walk on the beach, sail on the ocean, hit the skatepark with the Belfast Crew, sit in the sunshine, watch the clouds and birds slip and soar by; and gaze at his dear boy, Hunter.

Friends and family will gather for Alden’s Celebration of Life in early summer, details will follow.

Alden’s family invites you to share memories or stories on their on-line Book of Memories at www.bchfh.

Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland is assisting Alden’s family in honoring his life.