Andris Laizans

life story

A Loving Father, a Talented Musician, and a Dedicated IT Professional

Andris Laizans, 51, passed away suddenly, just two weeks before his daughter Emily's 21st birthday.

He was a wonderfully unique person who beautifully balanced his Latvian roots with his American life, his technical IT mind with his artistic musical soul, and his role as a loving family man.

Celebrating a Life of Family, Music, and Latvian Heritage

Born in Latvia in 1975, Andris was the youngest and most loved child in a family of scientists. His father was a nuclear physicist, and his mother was an organic chemist.

In 1990, at 15, Andris found a new home in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moving to a new country as an introverted teenager was no small thing.

But Andris found something that felt like home: alternative rock and college radio. As any good Gen X kid would, he found his people and his identity through music. He stayed connected to his Latvian roots, loved music from both sides of the Atlantic, played guitar, and wrote music of his own.

In his later years, Andris found his place professionally at NVE Corporation. He was an exceptionally good IT professional, valued for his expertise and willingness to help. On the last evening of his life, he stayed late to help solve a difficult problem, as he often did, without hesitation or complaint.

The following morning, he collapsed suddenly in his living room.

Andris was a single dad to Emily, and over the years he grew into a wonderful girl dad. He supported her interests, from soccer to science, and passed his love of music on to her. Emily plays the viola. He also took her to Latvia, giving her the chance to experience the country her father had left as a teenager and connect with her Latvian roots. Emily is now studying biology at the University of Minnesota.

Andris loved his home in Mounds View, Minnesota, where he enjoyed his garden, spending time outdoors, and the company of the family pets.

Andris was preceded in death by his parents, Viktors and Zigrida. He leaves behind his daughter, Emily, and her girlfriend, Sofia, who shared his home; his sister, Inta, and his brother, Evalds, and their families, including his beloved nieces and nephews, to whom he was a wonderful uncle; and many friends who called him “brother from another mother.”

Andris leaves a huge hole in the lives of those who loved him. He stole our hearts, and his absence leaves a space that cannot be filled, especially for Emily, who has lost her dad just as she was beginning her adult life.