Andrew Joseph Pasek, 25, tragically passed away August 29, 2017 during Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
Andrew will be remembered by those that loved him as someone with a kind heart, a beautiful spirit and a great love for others. He loved animals, his family and was a wonderful son and friend. Andrew graduated from Westchester Academy Class of 2010 and is an Eagle Scout. He attended UTSA and HCC and was currently employed by asTECH, Inc., a remote automotive diagnostics service company.
Andrew is survived by father Albin Joseph Pasek, mother JoDell Pasek; sisters Misty and husband Glyn James and Alyssa Pasek (Westchester class of 2008); Grandmothers Mrs. Jessie Tamborello and Ms. Louisa Boggia; uncles Michael J. Pasek and Michael Tamborello and wife Dawn; Neice Gabrielle James and Nephews Aaron and Edward James; cousins Tony Pasek and Michael A. Pasek; Sarah Lozano and husband Felipe; Jeffrey Tamborello and Mary Catherine Tamborello; Second cousin Dane Tamborello.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather; Joseph F. Tamborello and brother; Edward James Donnelly.
A Memorial service will be at 6:00 pm on Thursday, September 7, 2017 at Christ The Redeemer Catholic Church, 11507 Huffmeister Road, Houston, TX 77065, with a reception to follow in the Parish Hall.
Published by Houston Chronicle on Sep. 5, 2017.
BIRTH
Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA
DEATH
29 Aug 2017 (aged 25) Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA
Andrew was electrocuted while trying to rescue his sister's cat in her flooded house. He was just in two feet of water when power leaked out of a lamp pole. The shock paralyzed him and he fell putting his hand on the pole. He was shocked and drowned. No rescue attempt could be made until power was turned off to the subdivision. He is survived by his mother Jodell Pasek who wants to warn people about the dangers in flood waters with live power. His parents are Albin Joseph Pasek and Ann Ajodell Tamborello. Jodell lost her other son to a drunken driver in the 1990's.
Andrew Pasek, 25, was always bringing home stray animals. There was Mali the puppy, his mother recalled, a tabby he called Blu and a Tibetan spaniel named Coco.
So it surprised no one that on Tuesday, Andrew set out to retrieve his sister Alyssa’s cat, D’Artagnan, who had been left behind as the floodwaters rose in Houston.
Andrew drove to the home with his childhood friend, Sean Stuart, and they began wading through several feet of water toward his sister’s two-story house.
Suddenly, the two felt the jolt of an electrical current in the water, said Andrew’s mother, JoDell Pasek.
“Years ago, Andrew had had an accident and broken his ankle severely, and he had plates and pins in his ankle,” she said. “All of that electricity started going to everything in his ankle and he started jumping around.”
Andrew fell into a mailbox on a metal post. “He told Sean, ‘Get away from me, I’m dying,’” Ms. Pasek said, through tears. “He knew immediately that if Sean touched him, he would be electrocuted too.”
Officials in Harris County attributed his death to accidental electrocution, the ninth confirmed storm death in the county.
Sean’s mother called Ms. Pasek to tell her what had happened. “I get that phone call, my son is no longer alive,” she said. “I just started screaming. We’ve been friends since the kids were in kindergarten, so I know it was the hardest thing she had to do.”
Gathered at home in Houston, Andrew’s family was left wondering if they could have stopped him from trying to rescue D’Artagnan.
“We’ve all decided that no matter what we would have said, he would have gone anyway,” Ms. Pasek said. “That was just his nature.”
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