Andrew Joseph Kruep
May 12, 1990-April 18, 2015
Los Altos Hills, California

Andrew Joseph Kruep of Los Altos Hills, California, died instantly from injuries sustained in a car accident near Lockwood, California, on April 18, 2015. He was 24. He was a front seat passenger in a rollover accident in a rugged mountainous area of Monterey County.

He is survived by his parents Donna and Randall Kruep along with younger sister Julia and younger brother Christian, all of Los Altos Hills, California. He is also survived by his paternal grandmother Babe Kruep of Breese, Illinois, and maternal grandparents, Richard and Evelyn Goestenkors of Carlyle, Illinois. He is also survived by a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

He was born on May 12, 1990, in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived his early years prior to moving to Denver and ultimately to Los Altos Hills, where he lived a majority of his young life.

An avid sports enthusiast and outdoorsman, he played both college lacrosse and football before hanging up his cleats to focus on a B.S. degree in biochemistry which he completed at St. Mary?s College in May 2014. He also attended Willamette University and was a graduate of The Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills, California, where he captained the football team.

He was employed after college graduation by Land Sciences Technologies, an environmental remediation technology firm where he served as the business development manager for the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. He had plans to attend business school before his life was tragically cut short.

He was a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Los Altos, yet his true spirit and empathy towards others could be seen in places like the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford where he spent many Sunday nights playing with the young brothers and sisters of very sick kids. Young children loved the big kid with the big smile and calming voice. While he excelled in the sciences he also studied architecture for a summer at USC. He produced a substantial amount of art while at Pinewood School which was featured in exhibitions. He enjoyed a wide variety of activities and especially relished the time spent at the family ranch where he hunted wild boar, deer and quail. He was an exceptional snow skier, a voracious reader, and an aspiring self-taught chef and baker. He learned to sail on San Francisco Bay and play guitar as a young boy. He was an aggressive mountain biker, loved to hike and recently took up Thai kickboxing. He loved going to Golden State Warriors games with his family and seeing the 49ers with his father and "Uncle Terry." He had the opportunity to travel the world and took full advantage. As a result he was fascinated with global peoples -- their culture, food, music and language. He developed many friendships both close to home and around the world. He approached life with a great deal of curiosity and gusto. He was a quick study, funny and witty. He never backed down from anything or anyone. His kindness could be seen by the way he played with his puppy Greta. He will be sorely missed by his many friends who will miss his warm heart, big smile and zest for life. Among the many things he was ??? he was a great brother and son. In the Jesuit tradition he had become a man for others.