Andrew Scott Page

Andrew (Drew) Scott Page, 52, died at his Andover, CT home on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family and friends in his final days.

He is survived by his parents, George and Joan Page of Southington, CT; his wife, Deborah Goodwin Page, and his children, Duncan, 18, and Dani, 16. He is also survived by his sister, Cindy Page, and niece Elysse Page of Southington. Drew also leaves his beloved extended family: parents-in-law Paul and Merrilyn Goodwin of Coventry; brother-in-law Paul Goodwin of Colchester and his wife, Lynn Goodwin, and their children, Kelly and Maya; sister-in-law Mandy Caporaletti of Fort Myers, FLA, and her husband, David Caporaletti  and son Geno.

Drew was born October 25, 1969, Boston, and grew up in Southington, CT, graduating from Southington High School in 1987. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Connecticut in 1991 and a Master’s Degree in Education from Lesley University in 2001.

Drew and Debby met because of music – a friend of Debby’s from high school band went on to befriend Drew in their college marching band, and their mutual friend introduced them post-college. Drew proposed to Debby from onstage while his band played a gig. They were married June 26, 1999.

Drew taught 5th grade language arts at Mansfield Middle School for 11 years before resigning to become a stay-at-home dad. During that time, he volunteered in the summers at the Silver Lake Camp & Retreat Center in Sharon, CT, serving as camp “dad” in 1997.  It was there that he met Rev. Eric Anderson, who in 2009 brought him on staff at the historic Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ as media assistant. His role steadily increased as the children got older, from database management to photography, videography, writing, and IT and AV support. When the Connecticut Conference joined with Massachusetts and Rhode Island to form the Southern New England Conference UCC, Drew was instrumental in creating the new communication infrastructure, merging the databases of the three disparate organizations, moving computer servers into the cloud, providing training to staff with differing practices, and welcoming in new staff. For many years, he also edited the weekly Starting with Scripture devotional newsletter. 

Always eager to learn something new, Drew and a friend taught themselves the German longsword technique, and then founded the Sword in the Scroll Fencing Academy in 2004 to teach the skill to others. Fencing was added to their offerings in 2006, and in 2011 the SITS Fencing Academy became its own nonprofit entity. Drew coached many young students who competed in regional and national championships, and his creativity showed through: he would regularly create new games and techniques to help his students learn and practice skills in interesting ways.  He was adept at meeting students where they were and helping them realize their potential, even if that meant switching to a different coach. He choreographed sword fights for middle school productions in both Mansfield and Coventry. And, in 2016, he won a bronze medal in his age group at the US Fencing National Championship. 

Drew was always happiest when he was being creative. A trained percussionist, he also had a natural talent for keyboard and guitar and how music works. He wrote songs (both serious and silly) as well as plays and poetry.  He co-created a role playing system, Lōr, when Dungeons & Dragons didn’t quite do what he wanted, while continuing to play D&D both as a participant and as the Dungeon Master. When his children were young he created “Little Heroes” role playing adventures that were fun, not too scary, and perfect for the attention spans of 5 year olds. He had a knack for creating art using digital media, drone photography, and video. 

A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 6, at 2 PM at the Second Congregational Church in Coventry, CT. The service will also be livestreamed. Those in person are asked to wear masks. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the endowment fund of the Sword in the Scroll Fencing Academy, a 501(c)3 non profit organization. A future scholarship will be offered in Drew’s honor.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.