ANDREW JACKSON VLIET JR. Andrew Jackson Vliet Jr., 77, of Waipahu, passed away on April 7th at Queen's Medical Center. Born in Champaign, Illinois he came to O`ahu at age 21 for a friend's wedding and never returned to live on the mainland again. Following his move to Hawai'i he became very active in the marine industry and at one point owned several boats while living aboard the "Carry T" at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. He was a licensed electrician and installed commercial and home audio systems. He then became a communications technician for Hawaiian Telephone Company which eventually moved him to Moloka`i where he was known as "Baby Andy". During this time he spent several years commuting to Kalaupapa to maintain their phone and civil defense system. During the Apollo missions, he was stationed at Pu`u Nana (repeating station) to ensure all systems were operational while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. He once had the largest pig farm on the island of Moloka`i at Manawainui in addition to growing truck crops such as tomato, eggplant, and okra. For many years he was a heavy equipment operator & mechanic; and he worked in several rock quarries on the island. In 1989, he founded `Ohi`a Bakery creating everyone's favorite Moloka'i Sweetbread. During the early years of the bakery, he would fly to O`ahu every week to bake his bread in a commercial kitchen and sell it at the Aloha Stadium swap meet. As demand grew, he moved operations to O`ahu in 1993. He always had a passion for farming and in his free time he became interested in orchids. He joined the Aiea Orchid Club in 2006. In 2008, he became a member of the Dendrobium Orchid Growers Association of Hawaii. In 2011, he became Vice President as the organization changed to Tropical Orchid Growers Association of Hawaii (TOGAH). In 2014, he became the Oahu Chapter Director for the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association (HFNA). One of his last projects was the start of a Vanilla farm in Wai`anae. He is survived by sons, Andrew J. Vliet III, James L. Vliet, and Pieter M. Vliet; brother, James Vliet; sister, Sharon Denhart; and two grandchildren. Visitation is at 12 noon on Sunday, May 15th at Kamehameha Schools Bernice Pauahi Bishop Memorial Chapel. Service begins at 1 p.m. Food and Fellowship to follow. He would like if you would join an Orchid Club and grow an orchid or two. If you would like to make a monetary donation; he participated in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of the Kamehameha Schools `Ohana as a cancer survivor.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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