Andrew (Andy) William Rix |
| Posted 2022-07-09 by Sharla |
| Wickenburg Funeral Home & Crematory, Wickenburg, AZ Andrew "Andy" William Rix February 9, 1977 - June 13, 2022 Andrew “Andy” William Rix “You never said I’m leaving, you never said goodbye. You were gone before we knew it, and only God knew why. A million times we needed you, a million times we cried. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died. In life we loved you dearly, in death we love you still. In our hearts you hold a place that no one could ever fill. It broke our hearts to lose you, but you didn’t go alone. For part of us went with you, the day God took you home.” - Author Unknown Wickenburg has many special people and now it has lost one of them. He was one of its own and someone who will long be remembered with love and affection. Andrew “Andy” William Rix passed away on June 13, 2022 at Abrazo Arizona Heart Hospital in Phoenix with his family at his side. He was 45. Andy was born on February 9, 1977 to Bill and Marilu Rix in the small town of Spencer, Iowa. After his birth, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and CMT, another neurological disorder. His parents were told he would never be able to walk or talk. They didn’t believe it. Nor did they accept it. Bill and Marilu set out on a course to prove the doctors wrong. Little Andy, even before attending pre-school, would take a one-hour bus trip each way to receive the rehabilitative care he needed to learn how to walk and talk. It was the beginning of a lifetime of Bill and Marilu never telling Andy that he could not do something. In 1986, when Andy was nine, the family moved to Wickenburg where Bill and Marilu took over what would become the popular “Willows” restaurant. They were following in the footsteps of Marilu’s parents who had owned “Rudy’s Stateline Club,” another popular restaurant that literally sat on the border of Iowa and Minnesota. In keeping with the family tradition, and over the next 18 years, Andy and his big brother Chris could often be seen at the Willows helping out Mom and Dad. During those years, Andy attended Wickenburg schools and graduated in 1997. As he walked across the stage to receive his diploma, it was handed to him by School Board Member Curtis Arnett who insisted on doing the honors. After graduation, Andy proudly went on to take community college courses including a favorite – sign language. |
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