Beloved UPS driver remembered, honored in Sumner

Gordy Andersen was more than just the UPS delivery driver to downtown Sumner merchants.

“He was an icon,” said Karen Flippin, a downtown business owner and friend of Andersen’s. “Before we opened our business in Sumner, we didn’t know him, but we knew who he was.”

Andersen grew to love to love the community he delivered to for more than 20 years. When he retired in the early 2000s, he started volunteering at the Sumner Downtown Association.

“He volunteered from 30 to 50 hours a week once he retired,” said former SDA director Shelley Schlumpf. “He helped us work on over 22 events each year. Gordy was there for all of it. He was a very good friend to myself and the merchants down here.”

Andersen was known as a patriot and a champion for Sumner. Every where he went, he promoted Sumner.

“His contributions to Sumner started with none other than love,” said downtown merchant LuAnn Iselin. “He had such a generous nature.”

In 2011, Andersen was diagnosed with brain cancer. On Sept. 14, 2012, Gordy lost his battle with cancer.

“I took him to all of his doctors appointments, keeping notes on all of it,” Flippin said. “Brain cancer is really tough. I was a little mother hen to him.”

Flippin, Iselin and a few others banded together to take Andersen to all of his medical appointments. They called themselves Gordy’s Angels.

“I wanted to make sure he was taken care of,” Flippin said.

Gordy’s Angels wanted to keep his memory alive, and had been working on gathering momentum to construct a memorial to suit Andersen since he passed away.

“It was three years in the making,” Flippin said. “We couldn’t think of a better way to honor a UPS driver.”

The group of downtown merchants got together and started raising funds for a memorial the way they remember Andersen: a hand truck stacked with boxes at Heritage Park in downtown Sumner. The memorial was unveiled June 16 during a ceremony in the park.

“I’m so glad LuAnn and Karen put this together,” said Andersen’s widow, Mary. “He was a wonderful person and deserves this tribute. He loved people, and he was very outgoing. I wish he was here ... he would love to see this.”

Andersen’s daughter, Brooke Knight, says the memorial to her father is amazing.

“He always loved it here, and was always promoting this town,” she said. “When he was sick, seeing the entire community rally around him was a real testament to how much he loved the community, and how much they loved him.”

Since her father’s passing, Knight has started working at UPS as a front loader.

“It feels good to be in the building,” she said. “Maybe I’ll drive someday.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Beloved UPS driver remembered, honored in Sumner."