Andy Ten Braak, 87, passed away peacefully at his home in Longmont Colorado on Tuesday October 7th after a battle with cancer.  He was born in Rock Rapids Iowa on January 26th 1938, and was raised on a farm in Doon, Iowa.  After completing high school, he enlisted in the Air Force where he became a meteorologist, attending Boot Camp in Oakland CA and technical training at Chanute AFB in Illinois.  He was then stationed at Bolling Field in Washington D.C. and Andrews AFB in Maryland where his duties included delivering weather maps to the Pentagon each morning.  During this time, he twice received an award for 1000 hours with no errors.

After being discharged in 1960, he started his lifelong career of working in wholesale plumbing and heating.  He was a salesman for six years and then was promoted to branch manager in Rapid City, followed by Riverton Wyoming, Bloomington Illinois and Minneapolis Minnesota.  He began working for Northwest Pipe Fittings in 1974 which brought him and Glorianne back to Rapid City and he continued to work there for 40+ years as the sales manager.  He particularly enjoyed working with the customers and made many friends.

Andy was a lifelong baseball fan, and he and Glorianne attended many games – first the Washington Senators as well as when they became the Minnesota Twins.  They attended American Legion games for many years and also enjoyed high school wrestling, college basketball, football, women's softball and the Little League World Series.  More recently, he liked to watch the Colorado Rockies on TV, listening to the games on the radio and occasionally attending a game.

Andy enjoyed many years of hunting, fishing, camping, playing horseshoes and golfing with friends and family.  After moving to Longmont in 2020, he always looked forward to playing in the weekly Senior Golf League through the Longmont Senior Center and especially loved coming over to his daughter and son-in-law's home for dinner and to play several games of pool.  It brought him great joy when he handily beat his opponents and made incredibly lucky shots.

Andy is survived by his daughter Debbie (Tom) of Longmont CO, grandson Jake of Longmont CO, grandson Ben (Natalie) of College Station TX, his beloved great-grandchildren, Reid and Stoic, as well as three sisters-in-law and many nieces and nephews.  His niece Marlene held a very special place in his heart as they stayed close his entire life up to the bitter end.

He was preceded in death by Glorianne, his wife of nearly 60 years, his parents, Andrew and Margaret Ten Braak, three brothers – Hank, Rich and Chris, and three sisters – Christina, Martha and Jennie, many close friends and his beloved dachshund, Karli.

He will be dearly missed by many.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Osheim and Schmidt Funeral Home in Rapid City Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 11:00 am., and he will be buried in the Pierce Congregational Church Cemetery in Scranton, North Dakota.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of the Black Hills.