By Jessica Benda
Contributing Writer
Friends remember Mike Andersen as quick to help — and quicker to dodge the credit.
The U.S. Army veteran and owner of north Orange County-based HVAC company Veteran Air died on Oct. 3 at age 40. He is survived by his wife, Jessica, and their six children.
Now, his community is detailing a legacy marked by service. From delivering free holiday hams to truckloads of shovels during a snowstorm, Andersen’s commitment to helping others was steadfast.
Andersen’s knack for the HVAC business stemmed from his father, Rick, who ran Denny’s Air. Under his father’s guidance, Andersen learned the ropes from a young age, but he took a hiatus when he found a calling in his country. He joined the U.S. Army in 2001, spurring four years of service and deployment to Iraq. When he returned, he wanted to start something of his own: Veteran Air.
To him, it was more than a company, it was an opportunity to help his neighbors. Carolina Velez, Veteran Air’s brand ambassador since 2021, said she recognized his commitment to community from the moment she started.
“When I first met Mike, he told me that he had this passion, this duty, this responsibility to take care of our community,” Velez recalled. “Whether or not he knew the people, whether or not they were doing business with his company, he felt a responsibility to care for those members, especially those members in need.”
Many know Andersen from his holiday donations, in which he annually bought hundreds of hams and turkeys from local businesses. A couple days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, he and his team would set up a tent and invite anyone in need to come pick one up. Last year, Velez said it almost fell through, but Andersen managed a last-minute save.
“Till this day, I have no idea how he managed to pull that off,” Velez said of his quick thinking. “But it was just one of those events that he believed needed to happen, because so many families were…
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