East End Mourns 'Champion Of Justice', Who Died Suddenly

NORTHWEST HARBOR, NY — The East End community has come together in a fierce show of support to help the family of a beloved activist and advocate who died suddenly in December.

A GoFundMe, "Andrew Strong," was created by Sara Topping after Andrew Strong, a longtime East Hampton resident, died suddenly on Dec. 11 in The Hague.

"Andrew Strong, our beloved and loyal father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend, devoted champion of justice, and chosen son of Kosovo has passed away from an unexpected heart attack this past weekend," Topping wrote. "The magnitude of this loss is impossible to comprehend and will be felt by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing or working with Andrew."

A wake was later held in Sag Harbor, with a memorial service in Geneva, IL.

The GoFundMe was created, she said, to help Strong's family — his wife Rachael, and his children Henry, 9, Max, 7, and Ella, 5.

Although he grew up outside of Chicago, Strong was a lawyer whose life was dedicated to a "peaceful, free and independent Kosovo," according to the East Hampton Star, which added that he moved to Kosova in 2005, to work with Ramush Haradinaj, a leader of the former Kosovo Liberation Army.

"Saddened by the passing of Andrew Strong," Haradinaj wrote after Strong's death. "A brilliant legal mind, he joined my defense team as a student, evolving into a brilliant lawyer. A dear friend and a human rights advocate. My condolences to his family and friends. Andy, your legacy will be remembered. Rest in peace."

On the East, OLA of Eastern Long Island grieved a dedicated advocate.

"The team at OLA is devastated to share the news of the passing of Andrew Strong," OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez said in an email. "Andrew served as OLA's first general counsel starting in 2018 during some of the most challenging moments our community has experienced."

She added: "Andrew brought his full heart to the work as an advocate and a fierce ally. He inspired us all to look deeply at human rights advocacy within our own local community as a bar to set high. It was not lost on us that his work prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo was not a far leap to defending and protecting the very East End community members who saw their lives at risk due to heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric and significant changes in local policy and practice."

And, said Perez: "Each community member who came to OLA in crisis received his care and full consideration. We remember the loving support his wife Rachel offered as he shared his experiences and vision for East End community members to not endure undue hardship or exploitation simply for being immigrants."

Strong, she said, authored legislation "The Peaceful Communities Protection Act" for the local region "that would protect those families and individuals who bring so much to our shared community from becoming targets and scapegoats of anti-immigrant policies that serve only to create fear and destroy families."

That legislation and all advocacy needed to see the legislation signed into town and village law will be revisited as an honor to Strong's legacy and his vision for a safer East End, she said.

"Andrew, above all, was a brave man who stood on the side of justice without a need to equivocate," Perez said. "We are heartbroken by this news and offer our condolences to Andrew's mother and father, his wife, his three young children, and all of the many lives he honored with his work and friendship."

According to his obituary, Strong , was "a father who found his greatest contentment raising his three children, a husband married to his best friend and soulmate, a beloved friend, and a lawyer who fought for justice, human rights, and freedom."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.