University Times

Andrew Philip Schreck, 47, of Clairton died Nov. 22, 2013, in UPMC Presbyterian.

Schreck had been a network administrator in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences since 2000. Previously, he had worked at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, for a total of 15 years at Pitt.

“I was here and helped train Andy when he started working in the undergraduate dean’s office,” recalled Jeremy Mayhew, system analyst/IT manager for the Dietrich school, who was Schreck’s supervisor in later years.  “He was a great person to work with. He always had something funny to say to lighten the mood, always lent a hand when we were in a jam, and always tried to make the best out of a bad situation.

“He would go out of his way to help people, even to the point of giving out his cell phone to faculty who were not too computer savvy. They would bug him all the time and/or ask him to come to their house to help them, which he would do out of the kindness of his heart.”

Barbara Martin, senior information analyst in the Dietrich school dean’s office, said her colleague “was so kind and always smiled and seemed so happy in spite of some of life’s misfortunes that befell him.

“Andy and I began working together several years ago in Thackeray Hall. One of our important projects was providing the information for the course descriptions. Back then, everything was pretty much done by hand and I was having trouble with a Mac computer and put in a call to Andy for help. He arrived to my office and said, ‘Here’s how we fix Mac computers’ and held up a little wooden hammer that had ‘Mac’ engraved on it. Andy eased the tension and soon had the computer fixed.

“His sense of humor and quick wit were only matched by his technical skill. We all will miss Andy very much.”

Schreck earned both bachelor and master of science degrees, the latter in geology and earth science, from California University of Pennsylvania.

He had several film production credits and joined a friend in writing and producing independent television shows and movies for Real Films Media.

Schreck is survived by his mother Esther, wife Sandra, children Timothy and Samantha, brother Anthony and nieces and nephews.

—Marty Levine