Tributes paid to popular Eastbourne teacher and father

The funeral of Ocklynge Junior School teacher Andrew Gietzen, 39, took place at All Souls Church in Susans Road on Monday, July 10.

Father Tim Gietzen said: “Andy had been a popular teacher and pastoral carer at Ocklynge for 15 years having himself been a pupil in the 90s. He leaves a wife, Janette, and a daughter, Elizabeth, both of whom are still at Ocklynge as a teacher and a pupil.”

Andrew’s wife Janette said: "One of his unique qualities was his ability to accept everybody for what they were and to value them accordingly."

Former head teacher at Ocklynge Junior School Mark Trott added: "He found a particular resonance with some of those children who, for one reason or another, found school difficult - not that he made it easy for them, rather he would persevere with them, goad and inspire them to improve and succeed. For many children it was him that set them on a path to a better future.”

Andrew was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of six weeks. Despite this he had an active childhood, swimming for Haywards Heath.

Andrew’s health deteriorated in his teens but he gained a teaching degree at Brighton University and rejoined his old school as a teacher.

Mr Gietzen said: “He was popular both with the staff, [due to] his no-nonsense approach and ‘my life is too short for this’ attitude, and with the pupils. His ill health and frequent hospital admissions gave him an understanding of and an empathy with children who, like him, faced adversity.”

Andrew, who was an avid paddleborder and a supporter of Brighton and Hove Albion, underwent a double lung transplant in 2015 which gave him a new lease of life – allowing him precious extra years with his wife and daughter.

In 2021 Andrew caught Covid which led to multiple organ failure and two weeks on a ventilator in Harefield Hospital.

Mr Gietzen said: “His health never really recovered but despite numerous complications and admissions to hospital he carried on teaching whenever he could and even drove to Rome at Easter to show his daughter the sights.”