In Memoriam: USU Police Veteran Andy Barnes
December 13, 2018
Utah State University lost a valued member of its community on Wednesday. Andy Barnes, a nine-year veteran of the USU Police Department, passed away peacefully following a brief battle with cancer.
“Andy was an important part of the Utah State University Public Safety team and was well respected across campus and in the community,” USU Chief of Police Michael Kuehn said. “Andy was an amazing example of selfless love, always thinking of others and had a kind word or joke ready for his co-workers. He will be truly missed by all of us.”
Kuehn said Barnes’s quick wit, calm disposition and commitment to professionalism while working with others enabled him to easily earn the trust and respect of the USU and Cache Valley communities.
Barnes began his law enforcement career in 1992 as a volunteer member of the Cache County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team. Six years later, he moved into a full-time position in the Cache County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer. While there, he worked with inmates as a work-release coordinator, a transportation deputy and a jailer. Barnes was also part of the contingent of Cache County deputies who provided security at the Snowbasin Resort during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
After running his own business for several years, Barnes became a member of the Aggie family in 2009 when he accepted a position in the USU Police Department. Early in his tenure at Utah State, he sold his business and enrolled as a non-traditional student at the university.
“Andy was an admired member of our campus, and known by faculty, staff, students and his colleagues as a person dedicated to the safety of our community,” USU President Noelle Cockett said. “Our thoughts are with his wife, Cathrine, and his children during this difficult time.”
Barnes was born in 1973 in Logan and raised in both Logan and Providence. He leaves behind his wife, Cathrine, and the couple’s three children: Morgan, Tanner and Emerie.