Andrew James Sobczak was born May 24, 1962, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and passed away on August 11, 2013, in Santa Barbara.
A.J. spent his young life growing up in Greendale, Wisconsin, a small family-oriented neighborhood, with his three siblings and parents. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Major in Economics and a Minor in Math. He then made the big leap and left Wisconsin for sunny Southern California. He attended UCLA, obtaining a Master’s in Economics with all work completed toward a Ph.D. except the dissertation. It was recalled he earned one “B” before graduation, in badminton.
A.J. is survived by his wife, Lisa Sobczak, of Santa Barbara; mother Rosemary Sobczak and father Raymond Sobczak of Silver Lake, Wisconsin; brother David (Debbie) Sobczak of Greendale, Wisconsin, and Marco Island, Florida; niece Elizabeth (Travis) Moore and their son, Elliott (18 months old); and sister Joan Sobczak of Hales Corners, Wisconsin. A.J was predeceased by brother Raymond (Skip) Sobczak, previously of Tampa, Florida.
A.J was most proud of his teaching career at various universities including Cal State Northridge, UC Extension, Mount St. Mary’s and Pepperdine University. His classes focused on economics, which he taught during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A.J. also was a top-notch professional editor at Salem Press from 1991-1997, and had his own freelance editing business since 1995. He had many repeat customers who returned for his fine editing services and the extra bonus of editing complex math computations in micro and macroeconomics. A.J. also liked to joke about his so-called “genius IQ” somewhere near 180.
A.J. was a kind, sensitive and gentle soul who “took the road less traveled.” He refused to own a cell phone or Kindle device, much preferring the feel of book in hand. He could recite from memory the most obscure facts: lines from movies not many people remember or verbatim quotes from a Mark Twain book. He also loved science fiction books and was a lifelong cat lover. He adored his two cats, Blu and Sammy.
In the last 10 years of his life, A.J. struggled with great physical pain and demons resulting from migraine headaches and back pain. This pain affected his everyday life, causing years of struggle, trying to find relief. Toward the end of his life, this proved futile.
A.J was loved by many. His ashes will be placed in a beautiful urn representative of the writer he was, his favorite old-fashioned fountain pen by his side. He will be interred next to his brother, Skip, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Arrangements are by Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapels.