"People will never understand how complex Andrew was. Many people saw him one way - maybe as a funny kid, or an athletic kid, or a 'spirited' kid. But, many people didn’t know about the tremendous kindness that Andrew showed, the sensitivity, the intelligence and passion for doing well in school, and so many other things. For one, while Andrew was a super active kid, there was a part of him that LOVED getting dressed up. In this picture, Andrew was 6 years old and insisted on going in ‘business attire’ to a gathering at my brother’s house. And, while I’m biased, I think he rocked it!"

–Joe McDonough

"Andrew was 3 years old in this picture when we went to Disney World. Andrew LOVED all of the Disney characters! Even though Minnie Mouse was probably his favorite, he’s pictured here with Pluto. We have a video of Andrew finally seeing Minnie at the park. He was mesmerized. He hugged her and then walked away, walking backward with his eyes glued on Minnie. At the last minute, he turned around and ran into a pole. He was ok, though. He was feeling no pain because he was loving it!"

–Joe McDonough

"Is this kid happy or what? Yeah, his Dad FINALLY won him the stuffed animal he wanted on the Disney Boardwalk when Andrew was 4. What Andrew didn’t know was that I spent SO much money trying to win him that stuffed animal that I probably could have bought 3-4 of them at a toy store! Andrew was beyond excited to have his new buddy, which he named 'Peter Joseph Gerard'…yes, a very formal name, and two of those names are mine! I think that was Andrew’s ‘thank you tribute’ to me. It was worth all the money that it cost to win Peter Joseph Gerard!"

–Joe McDonough

“Bringing children to church is always an interesting experience. Some of your fellow congregants give you warm, welcoming smiles while others glare at you knowing that you are literally holding what will keep them, potentially, from hearing the service. Some churches have ‘kids rooms/cry rooms’ and we would often take advantage of them. In one instance that I remember clearly, the church did not have a ‘kids room’ and we sat amongst everyone else. Adults get antsy in church...can you imagine what it’s like for a small child? I was sitting down during the mass while holding two or three-year-old Andrew in my lap. He was getting a little restless so I let him stand up on my lap. As he enjoys the rare view of getting to look over all of the big people’s heads as they’re seated, he scans the church. And, at VERY quiet time in the mass, he has a revelation. He looks up toward the front of the church and seeing the priest, he screams out excitedly ‘I SEE GOD!!!’ It woke a few people up and gave everyone a little laugh. If we all could just have a little of the joy that he had!”

–Joe McDonough

“When Andrew was in Pre-K, Chris and I both got calls from ’school’ telling us that Andrew got injured in a bike crash on the playground. We both left work and met up at his school. He was sporting a pretty good gash over his eye, so we took him over to the Emergency Room at A.I. duPont Hospital to get it stitched up. While in the ER, the doctor and nurse were advising us that we should each take one side of him because we’re going to need to hold him down when the doctor injects him with the anesthetic needle. They carefully prepped him with the sterile cloth all over his head and chest with a little cut-out over his eye. As any parent will attest, you hate to see your child in pain and I was getting a knot in my stomach as they prepared to insert a VERY large needle into the area above his eye on his eyebrow line. The doctor gave us the countdown and we huddled over Andrew and slowly grabbed his arms while the needle got closer and closer. Just as the needle was about to break the skin, we literally heard SNORING!!! We all looked at each other and smiled, but we didn’t want to laugh and wake him up. The doctor proceeded with the injections and the suturing and Andrew slept through it ALL!!! My boy!!!”

–Joe McDonough

“After one of Andrew’s travel soccer tournaments in Princeton, NJ, Andrew’s coach expressed his strong displeasure with the conditioning of his team and instructed them to bring their running shoes to the next practice. I showed up at Talley Middle School after work to pick Andrew up from practice. As the practice was winding down, Coach instructed them to all switch from their spikes to their running shoes because now they were going to hit the track. Needless to say, there was some serious grumbling and eye-rolling among the team of 12-year-olds. I was a little bummed out because this was keeping me from dinner, but I settled in as they all lined up and were told to run 4 laps (a mile) around the track. Andrew and his teammates all made it around the track four times, some struggling a little more than others. They had just about finished their ‘punishment’. I think Coach was probably enjoying himself as the tired boys rounded the final turn of running a mile after a tough practice. This was to be their lesson. Andrew and a few of his buddies had a message for Coach, though, as well. They weren’t going to be broken and they then continued around the track. They ran four more laps for a second mile. On the one hand, I was antsy to get home, but when I realized what was happening, I just loved it! And, knowing Coach, he loved it too, because it’s exactly what he would have done as well when he was younger. Andrew wasn’t the most talented soccer player in the world. But, he was tough. He was a gamer and I admired that about him!”

–Joe McDonough

“Andrew was in Chris’ belly when my Dad passed away in May 1992. Ali was only 18 months old, but through pictures and stories, she has some ‘memories’ of my Dad. I think Andrew felt a little left out that he didn’t have memories with Pop Pop, but he enlightened us that he did, in fact, have a memory with my Dad. When Andrew was about 4, he told us that when he was coming down from Heaven in 1992, Pop Pop was heading up to Heaven and they had lunch as they were passing by each other. He vividly recalled their lunch, what they had, and what they talked about. It brought smiles to our faces - and his. And, who knows???"

–Joe McDonough

“You couldn’t miss the ads and news about the Bush/Gore election during 2000. From the back seat while driving to a practice one day, 8-year-old Andrew asked, ‘Why would anyone want to be president right now?’ Hmmm, I thought, good question. Out loud I answered, ‘It’s like in a baseball game when the game is on the line, do you want to be the one with the ball?’ Andrew answered ‘Yes!’ and he immediately understood.

A year or two later, when Andrew’s little league team was in the finals, this actually came true. Andrew pitched well, but the other team was stronger the whole game. After the game, the umpire did something unprecedented. He came into the dugout and gave the game ball to Andrew congratulating him on his performance. Yup, when the going was tough, Andrew took the ball and led his team the best he could.”

–Chris McDonough

“To celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, I hosted a surprise party for Chris in the same room where we had our wedding reception. And, the next day, we all went to Hawaii for an AMAZING trip! There are SO many great memories, but one that stands out is the 37-mile bike ride (all downhill) from atop Mt. Haleakala (a dormant volcano) at sunrise. The two-hour ride up the winding road to the summit was a little rough, but it was breathtaking once we got to the top. It was pitch black as we waited for the sun to rise…and cold! It was about 32 degrees, so the tour operator provided us with gear that we would strip off as we descended the mountain. Technically, Andrew wasn’t old enough to go on the ride, but we had no doubt that he could handle it, so we fudged a little on his age. Andrew led the group riding right behind the tour guide. Riding down while the sun was coming up, riding through eucalyptus forests, looking out at the ocean…it was all really memorable.”

–Joe McDonough

“Andrew was not a tentative child in any way. He had NO fear and learned to ride a bike when he was 3 years old. When we participated in the Bethany Beach (DE) 4th of July Parade, people saw Andrew and thought it was so cute that this little kid was riding in the parade on his bike with training wheels. Except, there were no training wheels! Person after person did double-takes when they realized that this little kid was riding a regular bike. It was hilarious to see the reactions of the crowd. Unfortunately for Andrew, he liked speed and the parade was often way TOO slow for him and he almost ran into the people ahead of us. But, it was a blast!”

–Joe McDonough

“When Ali and Andrew were 9 and 7 years old, respectively, we traveled to Ireland to visit relatives and do a lot of fun sightseeing. On our first night in the country, we actually stayed in a real castle – Dromoland Castle, a place that has been welcoming guests since the 16th century! This was our ‘splurge night’ as we were crossing paths with my brother Jack and his family who were just ending their visit to the homeland. It was SO cool exploring the dark recesses of the castle, riding horses, playing golf and just really experiencing a trip back in time. The castle is a little more formal than we’re used to, so we had to dress up for dinner in the dining room…and watch our manners. It was so regal with a large picture window overlooking the grounds. With Andrew sitting next to me, the waiter – with a very strong accent - asked Andrew what he would like to drink. Andrew said ‘excuse me?’ Andrew, all of 7 years old, looked so thoughtfully at the waiter as he repeated the question. This time, Andrew stroked his chin as if he was contemplating a very deep question. We looked around the table a bit awkwardly wondering why Andrew was taking this question so seriously. The waiter said that he would give Andrew some time to think about it and he excused himself. Once the waiter was gone, the mystery was solved. Andrew looked at us and told us that he had ABSOLUTELY no idea what the guy was saying but he didn’t want to keep saying ‘excuse me.’ He figured it was easier to stall and bluff.”

–Joe McDonough

“After spending 10 years living in the New York metropolitan area, we had become pretty accustomed to giving out-of-town friends tours of the city. Even after we moved back to Delaware, we still visited NYC frequently. On one trip, while walking through Central Park, a lady from a casting agency stopped us and asked us about taking pictures of Andrew. That kind of thing didn’t really phase Andrew. His attitude was appreciative but, sort of like ‘whatever’. Nothing ever came of it, but it wasn’t the first or last time that we had this kind of discussion.”

–Joe McDonough

“2004 was the last year Andrew and I went to the same school. Valentine's Day was a Saturday that year, but we were at school for an event the Friday night before. Monday, the 16th, I opened my locker to find this present from Andrew. He found my locker and left this Valentine's Day present for me to find when we got back to school. He filled the bag with chocolate and a card. It made my day.”

–Ali McDonough

“On the Atlantic City Expressway on the way back to Wilmington from Ocean City, NJ, Andrew and I got into a deep conversation about sports – the Eagles, this time. We talked about the good and the bad and everything in between. He asked me when I had last gone to a game, and I told him it was ages ago. Between the ticket prices, parking and food, it’s so expensive and, quite honestly, it can be a lot more comfortable watching from home. But, there is something special about watching a game in person.

Unbeknownst to me, our conversation triggered a plan in my 12-year-old son. With help from his Mom, they went online to find Eagles tickets. Andrew wanted to use his own money to take me to a game. As his excitement grew, and knowing Andrew, he didn’t want to exclude his Mom and sister, so his plan changed for our whole family to go to the game…on HIM!! I will NEVER forget standing in my room, with Chris and Ali watching, as Andrew shared with me that he was taking me to an Eagles game. I could have cried…and re-telling the story makes me cry. It was the kindest gift!!! Truth be told, I had a business trip that conflicted with the game…but I canceled the trip! I was not going to miss this opportunity with my family.

We went to the game and had a blast. I honestly can’t tell you if the Eagles won or not. It really doesn’t matter. Every year, when Week 4 of Pre-Season comes along, I think about being at the Linc with my family watching the Eagles, thanks to my kind and generous son, Andrew. (And, no, I didn’t let Andrew drain his entire bank account for the tickets. His thought was TRULY the gift!)”

–Joe McDonough

"As his middle school basketball team was breaking the huddle for the start of the second half, Andrew came over to our side of the court to inbound the ball. He looked up at us and smiled, but that wasn’t unusual and we just smiled back. I noticed that the ref was pointing to Andrew’s team going to the left, but Andrew had all of his guys set up under the basket on the right…except Patrick, who he was inbounding the ball to. Of course, when Andrew’s teammates went to the basket on the right, the opponents followed. As we realized what Andrew had just cooked up, I could see that Andrew was SO impatiently waiting for the ref to give him the ball. The minute the ref blew the whistle, Andrew inbounded it to Patrick and yelled to him to dribble and score at the wide-open basket on the left. As the opponents realized it, they all ran down the court. Patrick made the uncontested lay-up. Andrew’s coaches were not happy with Andrew’s (legal) trick play…but I thought it was hilarious!"

–Joe McDonough

"Andrew had two speeds: 100mph and 0mph. There really wasn’t much in between. On numerous occasions, we would find Andrew crashed somewhere – often in the most unusual spots and positions. One time, we found him lying face down on the kitchen chairs with his legs folded up in a 90-degree angle. My favorite, though, was seeing Andrew lying face down on the stairs from the basement to our first floor. He was sound asleep, but he had planned ahead. His laptop was open, with the screen facing the upstairs, and written in large letters, it said 'Please wake me at 8:00. I have homework to do.'"

–Joe McDonough