Friends of Andy Marini remove “Andy’s table” from The Sand Bar.

The Sand Bar in Sand Lake may have shut its doors, but a part of it lives on in a memorial to a man who felt at home there.

Andrew Giovanni Marini, 24, tragically passed away two years ago due to injuries sustained in a car accident. “Andy was a very loved friend, son and brother,” said friend Megan Wagenaar. She explained that the Sand Bar was the usual hang out for Andy and his friends to be on the weekends, and about four years ago he proclaimed the Sand Bar as his bar by carving “Andy’s bar” into one of the tabletops. “So the night after Andy’s funeral everyone went and met up at the Sand Bar. Pat and Toni Bush allowed all of us to carve our names in to the table as well, so we self-proclaimed it the Andy table. As everyone has heard, the Sand Bar closed, so all of Andy’s close friends got together in an effort to have “Andy’s table” taken out of the bar. Pat Bush said we could have the table as long as it went to someone in Andy’s family.”

Friends of Andy Marini at the benefit they held to help the family with expenses.

On Friday May 16, Patrick Ottobre, Cory Frandsen, Dan Myslenski, David Westveer, Michael Bowers, Megan Wagenaar, Ashley Robinson, Leah Scott, Morgan Jantzen, and Timothy Warren all made the final walk in to the Sand Bar to remove Andy’s table and bring it home with them. The table was given to Ann, Andy’s mother.

“We wanted to make sure the table was preserved and in a safe place,” explained Wagenaar. “Andy may be gone but we still love and miss him every day.”