Heartbroken North Fork Community Mourns Kind-Hearted Veterinarian

MATTITUCK, NY — The North Fork is mourning a gentle soul with a healing heart who touched scores of lives in creatures both great and small.

Dr. John Andresen, who founded the Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Hospital, died on Saturday, October 9, at the age of 80 after a battle with cancer.

Dr. Charles Timpone, Dr. Andresen's partner, and the MLVH staff posted a letter to family and friends on social media announcing the sad news.

"He was surrounded by his loving family when he slipped peacefully away. The seriousness of his illness was kept confidential at Dr. John’s request so that he could continue to do the things he loved — veterinary medicine. That was in character with the man we knew and loved and called our friend and colleague. The doctors and staff of the MLVH join his family in mourning his passing."

"Dr. John" and Dr. Timpone started the practice 27 years ago, the note said. "Together they were our foundation, the heart and soul of our practice. Dr. John embodied the best of us, he was the epitome of what a veterinarian, a colleague, a friend should be. He was known not only for his extensive veterinary expertise but for his compassion, kindness, and work ethic."

The note added: "There were many missed meals and shortened time off that he gladly gave up in order to ease the pain of one of his patients or comfort a client. It did not matter whether it was a goat, horse, Long Island Game Farm exotic, or a child’s pet pig. Nor did it matter the ability of a client to pay. In true James Herriot style, all that mattered to Dr. John were the creatures both great and small."

Dr. John, his staff said, was "the kindly father figure, the favorite uncle and the wise veterinarian to all the doctors and staff who worked with him over the years."

Dr. Andresen, the note said, "will be missed by all of his MLVH family more than these words can suggest.

The community was cloaked in sadness as they remembered Dr. Andresen's kind spirit. Some remembered Dr. Andresen's deep Norwegian roots; he was very active in the Sons of Norway chapter in Aquebogue and brought his Norwegian fjord horse to a 17 of May parade in Brooklyn celebrating Norwegian Constitution Day.

"He reminded me so much of my dad and grandpa," said Jill Franke of Southold. "He's good old stock, salt of the earth. He was a strong man with a wonderful heart. He tended to all our animals since I was a baby. John has left shoes behind that I don't think anyone can fill."

When she learned that he was sick, Franke knitted him a prayer blanket and Southold resident Mary Ellen Erdman gave her a prayer book to include and started a prayer vigil, Franke said. Dr. Andresen, she added, especially liked the dragonfly on the blanket and she shared with him its meaning.

The last time he paid the Frankes a visit, Dr. Andresen was interested in their beehives. Franke's husband Glen opened the hives and they chatted quite a while about them, she said.

"We gave him a jar of honey," Franke said. "He was truly an amazing man with a kind heart and a wealth of knowledge."

Dr. Andresen's memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 23 at noon; those attending are asked to bring a chair and mask. A rain date is planned for October 24. The service will be held at Fox Glove Farm at 127 Church Lane in Aquebogue.