This past weekend Divine Word Univers=
\nity and indeed Papua New Guinea lost a powerful friend. … <\/p>\n
The community was shocked and saddened by the unexpected death of Br.= For our part, Andrew and a fellow membe= During the funeral we heard a= We knew he was the Vice President of the Madan= And= We heard that= We also lear= This past weekend Divine Word Univers= ity and indeed Papua New Guinea lost a powerful friend. … The community was shocked and saddened by the unexpected death of Br.= Andrew Simpson. I believe he died suddenly from a heart attack. Broth= er Andrew as a member of the Christian Brothers, an order mostly devoted to … Continue reading Mourning and Loss in Madang<\/span>
\n Andrew Simpson. I believe he died suddenly from a heart attack. Broth=
\ner Andrew as a member of the Christian Brothers<\/a=\n>, an order mostly devoted to education. Born, raised, and educated in =
\nAustralia, for the past twenty seven years Andrew has lived in and minis=
\ntered Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n
\nr of the order, Br. Alfred, invited us to their house for coffee literal=
\nly the day after we arrived here. We landed in Madang on Saturday and S=
\nunday, still with a bit of jet lag, went to church where we met them. R=
\night after service they invited us over and have occupied a warm spot in=
\n our hearts ever since. In only a few short months we've come to co=
\nnsider them as very good friends.<\/p>\n
\nnd learned even more about Andrew's background. Raised in a large f=
\namily (nine siblings) he attended high school run by the Christian Broth=
\ners and decided there to join the order. Through a career of increasing=
\n responsibilities, he moved from primary, through secondary to tertiary =
\neducation. Here at Divine Word University he was the Vice President of =
\nStudent Services and I must say one of the pivotal leaders of the Univer=
\nsity. More importantly, because of who he was, he was dearly loved by y=
\nears and years of students who passed through the school. They said you=
\n could always take your problem to Br. Andrew and he would do whatever h=
\ne could to help.<\/p>\n
\ng Chamber of Commerce. We learned he had played a key role in the found=
\ning of the Youth Rugby League sports teams in the area. We heard many f=
\nunny stories (he was a fun guy!) and laughed until it hurt.<\/p>\n
\nrew was also a large man. There were 12 to 14 pall bearers, and you cou=
\nld see it was a lot of work to carry the casket. Besides the viewing on=
\n the vigil, there was a funeral Mass and a motorcade to the cemetery com=
\nmittal service. The funeral was conducted by the Archbishop. In additi=
\non to the DWU community, it was well attended by notable members of the =
\nMadang community, representatives of key government offices, and others =
\nfrom the many activities in which Andrew was involved. Three of Andrew&=
\n#39;s siblings traveled from Australia to attend.<\/p>\n
\n when they learned of his death, his family immediately said he must be =
\nburied in Papua New Guinea, the country he loved and for which he had wo=
\nrked so long in raising the standard of education.<\/p>\n
\nned about funerals here. The attire for funerals is black and white; ma=
\nny wore both colors while some were dressed entirely in one or the other=
\n. There was much loud wailing and crying — quite emotional. The entir=
\ne motorcade was preceded by police cars with sirens on the whole way.
I am certainly not alone here at Divine Word University, or in Ma=
\ndang, or in much of Papua New Guinea, when I say we will miss Andrew Sim=
\npson and recall him fondly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"