Richard Andrew Mize

Richard Andrew Mize, 72, of Statesville, NC, passed away on Friday, May 30, 2025, at his home.

Andy was born June 22, 1952 in Onslow County, NC to the late Richard L. Mize and Virginia Ward Mize. He was a graduate of South Iredell High School and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He was drafted into the army near the tail end of the Vietnam era and served two years stateside.

He left North Carolina, first for Lexington, Kentucky, and then for California, where he lived for many years, primarily in Los Angeles, where he worked for and retired from Volunteers of America – Los Angeles. During most of his years there, he served as a building supervisor and handyman for several apartment buildings. After his retirement, he returned to Statesville and lived in the same house where he lived as a child.Andy was a colorful character, very open and forthright, and his friends enjoyed his jocularity and candor and his generosity. He loved history and maintained lifelong curiosity about almost every topic imaginable. His love for auctions led him happily down many fact-finding rabbit holes.

In addition to his parents, Andy was preceded in death by a brother, David Mize.

Left to remember him very fondly are his brother, Robert (Bobby) Mize (Elizabeth); nephews, Sam Mize (May) and Charlie Mize (Luci); and niece, Lily Mize (Joel); and sister-in-law, Catherine H. Mize.

The family appreciates the longtime work both of Andy’s VA nurses and his in-home care team who became his close friends.

For his part, Andy was not partial to collective grieving associated with death, and there will be no public event. The family, however, welcomes the sharing of any anecdotes and remembrances.

If any would like to make a memorial contribution, the family recommends a medical charity dedicated to breathing disorders and their comorbidities, e.g., the COPD Foundation.

Troutman Funeral Home is serving the Mize family.