MARION- Andrew J. Santos of Marion, MA died March 5, 2024, after a brief illness.  He was married for 64 years to Marianne (Eggersdorfer) Santos.  He was born November 10, 1933, the son of John & Madeline Santos. Andy, as he was known to family and friends, lived most of his life in Marion.

He was among the first black students to attend Sippican School in Marion in 1939.   He graduated from Tabor Academy in 1952 and Williams College in 1956.  He served in the U.S. Army from 1957 – 1959, and for many years thereafter, in the Army reserves.  After working in banking and the Model Cities federal program in New Bedford during the 1960’s and early 70’s, he joined the ORR Regional District as its Business Manager in October 1972.  He would retire as Associate Superintendent – Finance in 1998.   Throughout the years he served in many capacities within the community.  Sports were among his favorite things, and he was very active as a player and coach.

In sports, he had successful high school and college careers.  At Tabor Academy, he played varsity football, basketball (Capt.), golf (Capt.) and was voted the best overall athlete in his senior class.   At Williams, he played football, basketball and golf.   The 1955 Williams basketball team for which he played, went to the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament.   That team was voted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

He also had great success as a coach.  He coached in Little League and Pony League from 1970-1980.   After retiring from his role as Associate Superintendent, he returned in October of 2001 to serve as ORR’s Interim Athletic Director through September of 2002.  In 2004, he jumped on board as an assistant coach for the ORR golf team and became the varsity Golf Coach in 2005.

His teams enjoyed a great deal of success during his tenure, going 119-17-3, capturing 4 SCC Championships and 5 SCC tournament championships during his coaching career from 2005 – 2012. During that time, his success was acknowledged as one year he was named the Division III golf coach of the year by the Boston Globe.  He always considered sports as a building block for student athletes and that lessons learned from competition could be beneficial towards future success in life.  His contributions to sports at ORR were acknowledged in 2017 when he was inducted into the ORR sports Hall of Fame.  In his later years, he stated that his induction to the school’s Hall of Fame was amongst his proudest accomplishments.

He was a strong advocate for public education and during his lifetime, he served in many community programs and was an active member in his church, St. Rita’s of Marion.

He is survived by his wife Marianne, his son Andrew J. Santos, Jr. and his wife Melanie of Marion, MA; his son Michael C. Santos and his wife Kerstin of Rochester, MA; and his daughter Erika C. Miranda and her husband Michael of Marion, MA and his daughter Lindsay; his brother John P. Santos II of Lakeland, Florida; his grandchildren, Drew Santos (wife Katie), Chelsea Friberg (husband Jay), Steven Santos (fiancé Liz), Katrina Santos (partner Connor), Devin Miranda and Shaun Miranda; his great-grandchildren, Cecelia Friberg and Cameron Santos and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visiting hours will be held at Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Wareham, 2599 Cranberry Highway, Wareham on March 14, 2024, from 4:00-7:00 pm.  A funeral mass will be held on Friday, March 15, 2024, at 10:00am, St. Rita’s Church, 121 Front St., Marion, MA with a reception to follow at Bay Pointe CC in Onset, MA.

In his memory, in lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association.