Andrew Palmer "Andy" Stoddard

Andrew Palmer Stoddard Apri l 15, 1947 – Apri l 2, 2025
Andrew (Andy) Palmer Stoddard passed away peacefully at the age of 77 at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado, on April 2, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.

He was born on April 15, 1947, to Palmer and Ruth Stoddard in Santa Monica, California, the second of four children- Philip, Suzanne, and Jim (Jane). He was a happy little boy chasing butterflies and hitting poles to see bumblebees fly out. Boy Scouts was a big part of his childhood, and he earned his Eagle Scout badge when he was just 14 years old. To receive an Eagle Scout award, he was required to have letters of recommendation from parents, employers, church, and school officials, appear before a board of review composed of outstanding men in the community, and have completed 21 merit badges. Andy lived out the motto "be prepared" all of his life.

He was quite the businessman, as he worked his evening paper route, delivering to 94 customers. He won several paper-folding contests at the state fair. He was cast in Moody Bible films as a country boy, complete with farmer hat and straw in his mouth.

Another honor he received was a "Best Smile" contest sponsored by a dentist in their city. His wonderful smile blessed everyone in his path all his life. He graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1965 with a class of 1,000 students. He was distinguished by a scholastic award and lettered in band as a tuba player.

While attending Santa Monica City College, he earned many awards and continued to serve others in leadership roles – President of the College Department at First Baptist Church, member of Alpha Gamma Sigma club, College Honor Society, and was on the badminton team. He was voted "Man of the Year" in 1967.

Andy finished his undergraduate studies at UCLA, studying bacteriology. He worked for the city utility department to put himself through college and faithfully followed God through his university years. As graduation approached in 1969, he wrestled with the decision between going to seminary or continuing to medical school. He met with his pastor, who advised him to choose medicine over pastorship, as he felt Andy's opportunity to touch lives and share Jesus' love was actually greater through medicine – many of us can attest that God has blessed this choice!

He applied to one medical school, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), only to receive a rejection letter which was followed by a letter explaining a mistake had been made and they were expecting him in class within the month! While at UCLA, Andy met a beautiful young woman in the college youth group. In June 1971, Andy and Linda Nelson were married. Andy graduated from medical school in 1975 and entered a Family Practice residency in Ventura, California. Melanie Anne was born to Andy and Linda in March 1976, and Sarah Christine in April 1979. Andy then did an extra year of fellowship in Pathology.

They moved to Ft. Collins, Colorado, in 1979, where he joined Rocky Mountain Family Physicians. He served his patients there for 37 years before he took a half-time position in 2008 at Family Physicians of Greeley. He retired completely in 2016 but kept "in practice" caring for his grandchildren and volunteering at Alpha Center Crisis Pregnancy Center and Christ Clinic, which offers free healthcare for anyone in need.

Life took an unexpected turn in 1986 when Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought a brave 7-year battle before joining her Savior in heaven in 1993. In those years, the Stoddard family had grown close to the Forwood family in their church, who had lost husband and father, Jim, in 1991. Rosemary Forwood and Linda had a special relationship, so
when Linda knew she was leaving this life, she encouraged Andy and Rosemary to get married after she passed. In 1993, Andy married Rosemary Forwood, and his family grew to six children: 3 more girls and 1 boy ages 9-17. By God's grace, his family came together and became strong in faith.

Andy lived to see five of his children married to Godly mates, and he was blessed to be called "Papa" by 22 grandchildren (now aged 1 to 24). All of the families live nearby in Northern Colorado, and Andy and Rosemary made a point of regularly welcoming all of their adult children and grandchildren to their home for "family night." It was especially important to Andy to welcome each person, give praise and thanks to Jesus each night, and humbly serve his family – bustling around the house ensuring there is enough food, cleaning up, and picking up dishes (sometimes before someone was done eating!).

Andy loved to arrange vacations for his family and for Rosemary and himself. We had so many happy times together. He was an avid reader and enjoyed his Bible most, followed by biographies of heroes of the faith, history, and sports of all kinds. He had memorized many Scriptures from childhood to adulthood, knew the Bible well, and followed Jesus' example of servant leadership. He loved to use his tenor voice for church events and belonged to many small group Bible studies, Bible Study Fellowship, and men's fellowship groups. He served in leadership in his church congregation and Christian school boards and participated in evangelism programs with the church. Andy and Seth took a missions trip to Haiti.

To quote an entry in Andy's journal:

"I believe by God's grace that as I have followed the path of Christ, He has allowed me to touch many lives for good. To Him be all the praise. By the Holy Spirit, be bold to share a word about my love for Jesus."

Another quote by Andy of Mother Teresa:
-Mother Teresa- "Be generous, understanding, let no one come to you without feeling better and happier when they leave. Be the living expression of God's kindness!"
-Andy- "I want to be that, Lord!"

Donations can be made to the Alpha Center at www.thealphacentercollective.org in lieu of flowers.