Brian Craig Andresen

Brian is survived by his mother, Judith (Judy); his father, Robert (Spike) and step-mother, Jan; three brothers: Steve (Stephanie), Mike (Jodi), and John (Julie); step-sister, Andrea Yager (Gary) and step-brother, Trent Huebner. Brian has numerous

aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He is preceded in death by his brother Jim; Grandparents, Harold and Helen Andresen, Tom Caniglia, and Albert and Patricia Dhaenens.

Brian was born February 22, 1970, the last of five Andresen boys. He attended St. James Catholic school and Burke High School, graduating in 1988. After graduation he spent some time at UNO and started working at USWest where his Mom, brother and future sister-in-law worked. He spent most of his time in the IT Department—he was a “techie”. He was good at it. There were lots of hijinks at USWest, especially stress ball wars; “chucking” stress balls at each other over the cubicles. Quite the entertainment for co-workers! Soon after, he was transferred to the office in Denver. He enrolled at Regis University and graduated with a BS in Business Administration in 2001. When USWest/Qwest/DEX outsourced a large number of jobs, Brian returned to Omaha. Losing that position was a disappointment that stayed with him.

He began working at Oak Hills Country Club. As one brother says, “it was impressive to

watch him work there; how “in charge” he was.” He was obviously well-liked and

respected by the members. He was good with people in general.

Brian has spent good times with his Dad. Spike recalled a time when he, Steve and Brian would go to the Ak-Sar-Ben race track. It only took one of those outings to realize that you better be sure you had a full tank of gas going there, because chances were good that you’d not have even a buck to buy gas to get home. More recently, Brian and his Dad drove to Lincoln to walk around UNL’s campus and see the new North Stadium expansion. They also checked out the new Warhorse Casino that is being built. They would have lunch together and talk about their next outing. They had planned to go to the new Luminarium downtown just last week.

When the brothers were asked for some memorable times with Brian, there were many stories that still resulted in good laughs: “Basement Football”. The boys would pull mattresses, pillows and cushions all to the floor to create a soft football field. Brian, being the youngest and the littlest, BECAME the football. Can you picture it??? Those boys tossing him around in what was a primarily passing offense. Another was “Pooh Bear Ransom.” Brian loved his stuffed Pooh Bear. Much like the “Oh No, Mr. Bill!” scenario —the older brothers would kidnap Winnie the Pooh and put him in precarious situations (for example, inside the oven…behind a car tire…hanging from a tree) then take a photograph for the ransom note. (Now this was when film had to be developed, so we wonder if mom and dad weren’t involved!)

But Brian anxiously waited for the mail to come to learn the fate of poor Pooh. The brothers say now that it was a pretty mean thing to do, but we think Brian liked the attention. He took the brunt of their teasing like a trooper. As he got older, he started

getting back at them. An inflatable “Godzilla”, set up to be reading the newspaper and smoking, found its way into the restroom which would, to put it mildly, “startle” the next person to walk in.

Steve reminded us of the time when Brian was 2 (though mom said he probably had to be closer to 3) and he walked, BY HIMSELF, from their house at 48th and Maple to Grandma A’s house which was across Maple Street and 1 block away. We guess he just wanted to visit Uncle Clayton!

Mike recalled feeling so bad that Brian wasn’t playing basketball at St. James that he bought him a model car kit and candy—which quickly turned that sad situation around. He also remembers playing golf years later with Brian at Stone Creek and the

great talk they had. He thinks Brian felt good when they were done.

John said Brian was such a smart, witty and good guy, and that he was going to miss late night music sessions (The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd), debates over the role of government in our lives and the meaning of the many books they had in

common. He’s already missing his rapier wit and smarmy comebacks.

Brian loved his cats. He had two: Todd and Ernie. One time he went to the Holy Name Fish Fry with Steve and some others, and when he got home Todd and Ernie literally attacked him because of the strong fish smell! They were great company for

him. He made friends with a squirrel in his mom’s back yard—was even able to coax it to take peanuts out of his hand. Judy’s dog, Roxie, was always ready to go for a walk when Brian had her leash in his hand. He had a sweet and endearing soul, even

as a little boy, wearing striped bell-bottom pants and his very blonde hair that was always in need of cutting.

For the past 10 years Brian lived with his mom. He had his spot on the sofa in her living room where you could always find him sitting; his eyeglasses perched on top of his head, scrolling on his iPad. The TV was always on, and he enjoyed binge-watching some of his favorite shows: “The Office”, M.A.S.H. and Jeopardy! to name a few. He could be a big help to Judy—he was great at cleaning out her refrigerator and freezer and arranging the massive number of “lock-n-lock” containers she has, scolding her for messing it up again. Just in the last two weeks they worked in her yard, potting bright yellow flowers and putting out new yellow cushions on the patio furniture. He liked to cook and liked going to the grocery store with her. Sometimes Judy would have people over for dinner—Brian would always be the one to clear the table and do the dishes. At a recent dinner night, just a few weeks ago, he put together a charcuterie board. He was proud of himself and we raved about it.

Brian is now free from the suffering that dominated his life the last 15 years. It’s okay, Bri, we love you and will see you and Jim in heaven.