In Memory of LCDR Andrew Vaughn Witherspoon

In memory of our GREAT friend, LCDR Andy Witherspoon:

Andrew Vaughn Witherspoon, 43, died Friday June 24, 2011, at the home of his parents, Sarah and William Witherspoon Jr., in Fearrington Village.

Andy was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 22, 1967. He lived in Charlotte, NC, Richmond, VA, Lake Oswego, OR before moving to Burnsville, MN where he spent most of his childhood.

He graduated from Burnsville High School in 1985. Andy attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduating in 1989 with a bachelor of arts in political science. He was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

Upon graduation he was commissioned through NROTC as a midshipman in the United States Navy. He served as an aviator attaining the rank of Lt. Commander. He was stationed in Brunswick, ME, Sicily, Italy, and Tokyo, Japan, and various other assignments.

After serving in the Navy, Andy attended Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and received his MBA in 2002. He spent the following year as a teaching fellow at Tuck.

In 2003 Andy began his career as a diplomat for the United States Department of State Foreign Service. He served in assignments in Iraq, Brazil, Nigeria, and Washington D.C. During his career he developed many close friendships around the world. Andy will be especially remembered for his devotion and generosity to the orphanage in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to families in Nigeria.

Andy is survived by his parents, Bill and Sarah Witherspoon of Fearrington Village, NC, his sister, Elizabeth and her husband, Scott Vaughan, his nephew, Benjamin Vaughan, and his niece, Amelia Vaughan, all of Davidson, NC. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Paul and Mary Long, and Joyce and William Witherspoon, Sr.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2011, at 2:00pm at Chapel of the Cross, 304 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, followed by a reception at the church.

Donations in memory of Andy may be made to Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Cancer Research, attn: Michelle Cohen, 100 North Charles Street, Suite 422-A, Baltimore, MD, 21201; or to Fearrington Cares, 2020 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/07/06/1324396/andrew-vaughn-witherspoon.html#storylink=cpy