RIP Andrew Wotton
RIP Andrew.
WOTTON, Andrew Grant. Passed away 3 September due to a tragic accident, aged 54. Andrew leaves behind his darling wife Florame, and his adored daughters Svetlana and Isabella. Son of the late Molly and Alex Wotton, much loved brother and brother in law of Paul and Juliette, Linda and Russell, Jenny and Brett, and uncle to his nieces, nephews and great niece. Rest in peace, you passed away too young; but a happy man who will be missed dearly. A funeral service for Andrew will be held at the Chapel of Forrest Funeral Services, 8 Glen Road, Browns Bay on Tuesday 11 September at 11am, followed by a private cremation. All communications c/- Forrest Funeral Services, 8 Glen Road, Browns Bay.
A tragic loss to the men’s movement. Most eill not be aware of his self sacrifice, never seeking honour or reward, Simply the satisfaction of a job well done.
Well done my Good and Faithful Servant.
Sad, sad loss.
Comment by golfa — Sat 8th September 2012 @ 5:07 pm
Andrew was an isolationist. He helped people for his own personal satisfaction and not to see those individuals succeed in their cases. He withheld important information and wouldn’t allow other people to assist in cases he was involved in. One of the men he dealt with ended up being imprisoned straight from the family court a long time after an historic event where he had thrown an object against a wall. Glorify him all you want but don’t include my name in the obituary.
Comment by Down Under — Sat 8th September 2012 @ 5:53 pm
Andrew was quite generous in sharing legal information and ideas about how to deal with caught$. He suggested to me that lift a rock and you will see cockroaches scuttling in all directions. At the time I thought he was being ungentlemanly about familycaught$, but time was very much on Andrew’s side! Not only did Andrew help me, but several other people who shared info, had got it originally from Andrew as well.
Andrew was more willing to cooperate, than many of the other men, so I cannot fault him on that score.
I am very happy to express my appreciation. Murray Bacon.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Sat 8th September 2012 @ 7:16 pm
Down Undr, I believe we must be talking about two different people!
Comment by Gwahir — Sat 8th September 2012 @ 8:12 pm
Andy’s work has supported many people and his website has often been a source of guidance and advice. I have had several long chats with Andy and I agree with Murray in what he says. Many who have worked with me over the years refer back to Andy as being a key influence on their activism and desire to seek sensible changes to syatemic injustice.
Comment by allan harvey — Sun 9th September 2012 @ 1:17 am
It is the nature of men to see the world from different perspectives and have different opinions, particularly in what might loosely be referred to as the men’s movement. I may be wrong but I think this was his last post on MENZ:
What we all share in common is the tragic events installed in our lives in the name of our children.
Comment by Down Under — Sun 9th September 2012 @ 8:24 am
Down Under, thanks for reminding us of Andrew’s last MENZ contribution.
I didn’t share Andrew’s confidence that sensible outcomes could always be obtained through familycaught$. In my opinion, Andrew’s willingness to speak in public, with his face seen and his name known, helped him in familycaught$. The bullies (cowards really) backed off, in the face of someone willing to speak sensibly in public.
You are right, Andrew could have two sides, but that certainly doesn’t take away from what he did.
Andrew was very determined to take care of and enjoy life.
Best regards, Murray Bacon.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Sun 9th September 2012 @ 9:40 am
Thank you for that Murray. I wonder if you could present my apologies, it won’t be practical to attend. I worked with Andrew at a distance but he was always there for the men and their families.
Comment by Gwahir — Sun 9th September 2012 @ 1:37 pm
Andrew was tragically killed while working under a trailer after the jack gave way.
All of us who support men in the Family Court discover that despite our best efforts, things don’t always turn out the way we hope. I know Andrew helped dozens of Auckland fathers who might otherwise have been battling on their own.
I have attended many meetings with Andrew involving several different organisations since the late 90s, and salute his dedication to the cause over the intervening years. I particularly admired his willingness to speak to the media.
My deepest sympathies to his family.
Comment by JohnPotter — Mon 10th September 2012 @ 9:24 am
Thank-you John for making that call and letting us know.
A sad day for all who cared for Andrew.
Arohanui to his family and friends.
May he rest well.
Comment by allan harvey — Mon 10th September 2012 @ 5:08 pm
DOWN UNDER – how could you be so insensitive? I have asked for your suggestion that my brother Andrew committed suicide be removed from your comments. Is it not enough that his wife is trying to deal with her grief, and that it was her and their 4 year old that found Andrew crushed under the trailer? And then for her to look on this public website and see that you have insinuated that he committed suicide!
I can assure you that Andrew was a very happy man who loved and adored his wife and 2 daughters, and his passing was due to a tragic accident.
While here I would also like to on behalf of our family, pass on our thanks to those Fathers of NZ who after Andrew died, visited their home to offer condolences, came to personally say goodbye to him at the funeral home and to those that attended his funeral.
Jenny James
Comment by Jenny James — Wed 24th October 2012 @ 1:30 pm
Dear Jenny,
The question may have seemed insensitive to you and I am sorry if this has upset you.
You see hundreds of men just like your brother commit suicide every year for reasons that you are probably oblivious too, because you only saw his happy face, that’s the way you want to remember it and that’s the way it is for most families.
To me it was a question that needed to be asked and if I hadn’t done that it would have been me that was letting him down. It was a genuine question; not an insinuation or a public stab in the back.
We are different people with different views of the world but in this part of the public domain suicide is not a shame, the cause is the shame and I don’t share the same fear that others have in talking about it.
Kind regards DU
Comment by Down Under — Wed 24th October 2012 @ 3:32 pm
Dear DOWN UNDER!!!!!!!
You are soooo wrong about my father!!!!!
Do you know what its like to hear this crap!!!
I would sue you if i wanted to, but i’m still young for that!!!!
My Father loved me dearly and I still miss him!!!!!
Where did yo get this crap from anyways!!!!!!!
Svetlana Wotton, Andrew’s oldest daughter
Comment by Svetlana Wotton — Thu 20th December 2012 @ 10:08 pm
Svetlana, my thoughts are with you, missing your father, a huge loss in your life and family. Good on you for expressing your feelings.
Comment by Luther Blissett — Fri 21st December 2012 @ 6:18 am
Thank you Luther Blissett!
Much appreciated!!
Im just disappointed what down under has written right in front of my step mum and my family that helped my step mother feel confident after what Down Under has just written…
I want to thank you all for supporting us!
Thank you, Svetlana
Comment by Svetlana Wotton — Fri 21st December 2012 @ 4:21 pm
Dear Svetlana
I may not be your favourite person in the world right now but I do understand how you feel.
When I was about your age my father died unexpectedly too, so I know what it’s like to go through these things, like the first Christmas without Dad. Life is never the same again, you can only imagine what he might have said or done if he was still here.
When you grow up and have children of your own it does leave you with a burning desire to do your best for them, because you know how much it means for them, even if they are not capable of realising it.
Regards
Down Under
Comment by Down Under — Fri 21st December 2012 @ 9:24 pm
Dear ” Down Under”,
You really don’t know how old I am or what I have been through all my life so you have no right telling me all that stupid stuff about the fact that my dad committed suicide and you don’t know the true facts about what happened to him or what past we both have had so you can just get off this website and you don’t tell me how to live my freaking life
Svetlana Wotton
Comment by Svetlana Wotton — Thu 19th December 2013 @ 6:55 pm
Dear Svetlana,
I knew your Dad for several years and I knew his positiveness, his knowledge, the way that he helped people and his determination. If you would like to talk with me like that, please give me a call on 638 7275. Murray Bacon.
Comment by MurrayBacon — Thu 19th December 2013 @ 7:37 pm
As I recall Svetlana was the Russian import bride that caused him so much grief in the first place. It is a long time ago now and may be I’m wrong, but I don’t recall him naming his daughter Svetlana too.
Comment by Shizzle — Thu 19th December 2013 @ 7:58 pm
Dear Shizzle, surely it is tasteless, to address your comment to the daughter, rather than to the mother? Besides, your comment is a bit late…..
Comment by MurrayBacon — Thu 19th December 2013 @ 8:37 pm