Their Story
Remembering Andrew Magee-Skinner.
Andrew S. Magee-Skinner was born December 13, 1987, in Falls Church, Virginia, and grew up in Lansdale, Pennsylvania; Sparta, New Jersey; and Chandler, Arizona, where he graduated from Hamilton High School. He joined the United States Navy and served six years, rising to Petty Officer Second Class as a Machinist's Mate.
He began his career as a nuclear-trained submariner aboard USS Hawaii out of Pearl Harbor, then served in the surface fleet aboard the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island, based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, completing multiple deployments.
Andrew was known for his curiosity, his love of learning, and his appreciation for beauty and excellence in the world around him. While stationed in Hawaii, he paid out of his own pocket for a stranger's injured dog to receive life-saving surgery, then went on to volunteer with the SPCA of Hawaii — walking dogs, cleaning kennels, and looking for ways to help more animals get the care they needed.
He hoped to carry that same instinct for caring for others into a second career, and dreamed of one day becoming a doctor.
Andrew was a devoted husband to his wife, Robyn. He loved the outdoors — hiking, water sports, home projects and craftsmanship, traveling, and a good craft beer. He died on October 12, 2016, in Manahawkin, New Jersey, at the age of twenty-eight. In keeping with his wish to heal others, his family asked that gifts made in his memory go to Doctors Without Borders.
Andrew is honored among the fallen by the Travis Manion Foundation, where his wife, Robyn, serves on staff and carries his memory into the Foundation's work with families of the fallen. He is remembered for the curiosity, the generosity and the plain decency that marked every part of his twenty-eight years.