Homer Lloyd Andres of Ferndale, Washington was upgraded to Heaven on March 19, 2026 after living a full life of 89 years dedicated to serving God and serving others. His genuine care, love for family and friends, authenticity, sense of humor, joyful demeanor, and availability to help others left a significant impact on everyone he met.

Homer was born on November 4, 1936 to Peter and Anna Andres in Goessel, Kansas and was the youngest of five siblings. He grew up on the family farm in Elbing, Kansas where he learned to work hard feeding animals, milking cows and helping harvest crops with horse drawn equipment. He attended primary school in a one room schoolhouse and later attended Berean Academy where he graduated in 1954.

After attending Bethel College in Newton, Kanas for two years, Homer volunteered for Alternative Service with Mennonite Central Committee between 1957 and 1959. He was first assigned to work in Vienna, Austria where he helped rebuild a brick school building that had been badly damaged during WWII, and later assigned to Basel, Switzerland where he worked in a print shop for Bible literature. While in Europe, he also took a 3 week tour that included Greece, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, visiting many locations he had often read about in the Bible. Upon returning to the US, Homer completed his undergraduate degree in business at Bethel.

While in Europe, Homer got lonely and started writing letters to Betty whom he had met at Bethel. By 1960, he offered her a ring which led to nearly 60 years of marital bliss together. Homer and Betty loved each other deeply and were an unstoppable force for good, often inviting others into their home and helping people in need. They raised their three children David, Debra and John on acreage just outside of Ferndale and lived there until moving to Highgate Senior Living in Bellingham in 2019 (Betty) and 2020 (Homer).

After moving to Ferndale in 1964, Homer and Betty sold eggs for several years, with about 5,600 chickens at the peak. Homer enjoyed a 33-year career at Schuman Transmission/Bearings Inc./Applied Industrial Technologies where he was a salesman and supported local industrial plants such as Intalco, Georgia Pacific, and Arco/BP. They were active members at Glendale Mennonite Church until 1988 and then at Good News Fellowship where he was involved in numerous ministry roles. In “retirement,” Homer enjoyed selling oil and other products for Shaeffer Manufacturing. He also enjoyed helping his kids with home-improvement projects, spending lots of time with his grandkids, maintaining his property, and taking many fishing trips with extended family around Washington and British Columbia.

Homer was preceded in death by his parents Peter and Anna Andres, siblings Esther Mae MacDonald, Silvia Jantz, and Eldon Andres, wife Betty Andres, and daughter Debra Compton. He is survived by his sons David Andres (Dana) and John Andres (Kristi), son-in-law Rich Compton, sister Della Wiebe, grandchildren Corey Ellyson, Levi Compton (Abbie), Skylar Compton, Abby Andres, Josh Andres, Sam Andres, and Becka Andres, and great granddaughters Grace Benjamin and Iris Compton.

A celebration of Homer’s life will be held on Monday, April 6 at 11AM at Good News Fellowship Church, 1252 W. Axton Rd. Ferndale.