Andy Eason: Living a life that impacted millions — February 8, 1939 – April 17, 2026

By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY

 

Although Andrew Eason was known around the world for his many significant and world-wide known advertising commercials and other business enterprises, the bottom line was that Andy loved Crestline. From his first visit to Lake Gregory while just a small child with his parents until his death at age 87, he kept returning to Crestline and doing more to make the community and the mountains a better place to live.

Locally he was well-known as Andy of Happy Sailing, the sailboat rental on Lake Gregory for over 20 years, while the county managed the lake. The sailing school gave visitors and residents the skills of sailing a sailboat in the wind, on Lake Gregory.

Andy used this business as a way to help others, too. Andy would choose and hire at-risk youth who were on the verge of going down the wrong path, and train them how to talk to customers, basic courtesy, salesmanship, ethics and taught them how to sail, run a business with honesty and politeness. He enjoyed making a difference in these young lives. Andy always loved the water and was glad he could guide these young men to a better life though his sailing school, Happy Sailing.

Since his death his wife, Kathleen, has received phone calls from some of those now successful young men, offering their sympathy and thanking her, for Andy, as he had reversed the direction of their lives. They stated they would have probably been in prison or homeless if not for Andy, instead of the happily married, successful men they now were.

Andy was one of the four charter members of the Lake Gregory Yacht Club; he was very focused on both the sailing aspects of the club and the community benefit. He sailed on the three of the Newport to Ensenada Regatta races in which the LGYC Club won first, second and third places on Rick Dinon’s boat, “Attitude Adjustment.” He was on the crew with Jim McDonald and Dennis Sharp. “Andy was great fun to have aboard with his sense of humor and good eye for sail trim,” Rick said.

Long ago, Andy ran the beatnik coffee house in Crestline known as “The Crypt” in the 1960s. The interior walls were painted black and it had little tables with chairs, plus live folk music performers appealing to the young adults in town and, of course, coffee. The building has since burned down and the irony is that the Lake Gregory Yacht Club now owns the lot and plans to build their clubhouse there.

Andy had his heart and soul in Crestline; he loved its history and people. He kept returning to this small mountain hamlet to make a difference and relax. While here, he created a social network and got involved in the chamber of commerce, never missing a meeting, and helping others. He wanted all the businesses in the town to thrive. He worked hard to make the place a better town in which to live a happy life.

When Andy’s friend was moving from the mountain, he gifted Andy with the Donut Den business in Top Town, next to the market, knowing it was in good hands. Despite its limited size, it became the local morning hangout, the best coffee and donut stop before going down the hill. He or his employees would wake up early each morning and make fresh donuts. Since Andy loved local history, he had some historic photos enlarged and placed them on the walls of his shop.

The contractors would stop in before going to their work sites and argue the hot local issues of the day, thoroughly discussing them. When Mr. Lee sold Hilltop Liquor and the Donut Den building, Andy retired after 20 years but he still had Happy Sailing to keep him busy between his extremely well-paying commercial jobs that also offered him the opportunity to travel the world.

Andy spoke six languages: French, German, Greek, Spanish, English and Dutch. The reason he learned those languages was he was always interested in anything he didn’t know and would immerse himself in things that fascinated him. He was not one to just waste time watching TV; he wanted to be doing something of substance. Since he went worldwide to produce some of the advertising campaigns he designed, he wanted to know the language of the places he went, to communicate his needs for the projects.

Andy was born in San Bernardino, on Feb. 8, 1939. He graduated from San Bernardino High School and Valley College. His art teacher encouraged him to attend art school due to his imagination and talent, so he got a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute, now known as CalArts College, for two years, then traveled to Europe and Asia for another couple of years doing freelance photography.

He earned two college degrees, one in Fine Arts and the other in Business Administration, leading to his career producing commercials for major corporations. He would write the scripts, direct, hire the crew and produce the commercials. After getting hired with the Peterson Production Company, he started promoting Borden and Pet Milk products, later becoming the senior producer with Young & Rubicam on the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company account. He then spent 18 years producing advertising campaigns for United Airlines Allstate Insurance, Kellogg’s, Kleenex, Heinz, Mattel, Pilsbury, Coca Cola, and many other national accounts, including Proctor and Gamble, seen by millions worldwide. He helped to create the Pilsbury Doughboy and won an award for Goodyear steel-belted radial tires when he designed the ad of a car driving over sharp axe heads. He won seven national advertising awards. He was one of the first to ride in the Goodyear Blimp who was not a blimp employee so he could photograph for the commercials and won many recognitions from the company.

He traveled world-wide to make these commercials, often taking his wife, Kathleen. He was considered a man of ethics and integrity, non-judgmental, with a creative imagination.

Andy worked for the 1972 Winter Olympics in Switzerland, where he would ski the slopes in advance of the competition to pack the ski runs; he loved to ski. He also loved the water and water sports.

Growing up in San Bernardino, he frequently came to Lake Gregory to enjoy the lake and loved the teen dances on the lake. He bought his first vacation house in Cedar Glen in 1963, while living in Topanga Canyon with his first wife and sons. He knew many Hollywood celebrities, hiring many in his productions and enjoyed interacting with their families. He had no ego, so many in Crestline were unaware of this stage of his life, other than he would leave for a job and return. He bought his first home in Crestline in 1983.

Andrew Carter Eason had two sons of whom he was very proud. His son Ivan is married to Julie. Son Lief with his wife Kelly has three children: Gavin, Hayden and Beckett. These three grandsons were his pride and joy. He is also survived by his life partner of 42 years and wife, Kathleen Welch-Eason.

Andy had suffered a stroke which slowed him down from his active life. He was recovering from the stroke at his Crestline home when he died of complications of COPD on April 17, 2026.

It is the hope of his grieving wife Kathleen that she might be able to place a cement bench on the peaceful south shore of Lake Gregory, where people could sit and watch the tranquil lake that Andy so loved, hopefully near where Happy Sailing had their sailboat docks so long ago, or over by the shore where the Lake Gregory Yacht Club holds their regattas. She feels that would be a lasting tribute to Andy and benefit the future residents and visitors to the community as well.