November 2011: Andy on the left and a less-grayer me on the right.

I just heard the news that Andy Poncic, of Phoenicia, New York, passed away September 6, 2023. He was a collector of (mostly) WWII jeeps and an early reader of eWillys.

During our 2011 trip to the East Coast, Andy and his then girlfriend/now wife Wallis invited Ann and I to stay at their place in the Catskills. It was a rainy November day when we pulled up at their small house in the woods. Visiting readers was a new thing at that point, let alone spending the night (they were our second overnight visit, the first being with Bob and Mindy in Ohio earlier in the trip).

At the time I didn’t comment on the extensive collection Andy had, as he preferred I didn’t. To this day it is still one of the largest collections I’ve ever seen, though many were in varying states of disrepair. He told me he didn’t like to fix them up; instead, he liked to buy and sell. That was his hobby. In recent years Andy sold a number of jeeps, so I have no idea what, if any, he had left before he passed away.

During our stay, Andy introduced us to his friend Terry, who ran Terry’s Jeep Farm, which I highlighted in this post.

November 2011: Andy, me, and Terry at Terry’s Jeep Farm

The most memorable event happened as we chatted following dinner. That’s when the rainy weather turned to a storm, knocking out power. That’s remained a funny memory both Ann and I; you just never know what will happen when visiting readers.

I know Andy was hoping we’d drop by again, as he invited us several times, but we just never got back to that area of NY.