Andrew Anatol Mickle

Andrew Anatol Mickle, 75, passed away in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, October 11, 2025 after a battle with pneumonia.

Andy was born April 19, 1950 in Brooklyn, NY to the late Nataly (Klimenko) Mickle and Anatol Mickle, from Murmansk, Russia and Kharkiv, Ukraine. With their extended family, they fled the Soviet Union and emigrated to the U.S. in 1947, eventually settling in the upstate community of Watertown, NY, where Anatol was an architectural draftsman at GYMO and Nataly taught Russian and German at Jefferson Community College.

Andy attended Watertown High School where he was an editor of the school publication; lettered in tennis; and graduated as valedictorian in 1968. He was an accomplished classical pianist and achieved the highest level of certification conferred by the National Fraternity of Student Musicians. He received his bachelor's degree in Slavic languages and literature from Harvard University, graduating cum laude in 1972. He married Katherine FitzGerald from Watertown, NY, and went on to earn his law degree from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta before passing the Georgia bar exam.

His law career was long and distinguished. Andy served as a public defender and chief public defender at the Atlanta Municipal Court before being appointed to the bench by mayor Maynard Jackson in 1982– making him the youngest appointed judge in the state. Andy also taught criminal justice as an adjunct professor at Georgia State University for many years, which he thoroughly enjoyed and earned him the accolades of students and faculty alike. In 2014, he established the Judge Andrew A. Mickle Scholarship in Criminal Justice for qualified GSU students, with preference given to students from military and law enforcement families and from upstate New York. After eight terms (31 years) on the bench, Andy retired in 2013. He and his longtime companion, Cynthia Ortego, subsequently moved from Atlanta to the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia where they enjoyed a serene mountain home with three French bulldogs.

To say that Andy was affable and outgoing would be an understatement. His gregariousness, sense of humor, and generosity earned him countless friends in all walks of life. Andy also cultivated many hobbies over his lifetime, including gardening, cooking, grilling, and– most recently– golf. As a master griller, he perfected the art of true charcoal– never gas– cooking.  Andy often demonstrated kindness not only to people, but animals. While living in Atlanta, he devoted himself to animal welfare and was especially passionate about dogs.

His many talents included an affinity for languages. Besides his first language, Russian, he was fluent in French, Spanish and German. In July 2019, he officiated at the wedding of his son Stephen and bride Carlyne in Park City, Utah, conducting the ceremony in both French and English for guests from both continents. In 1985 and again in 1986, Andy led groups of legal professionals on guided tours of the then-Soviet Union including the republics of Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus, fulfilling a lifelong ambition of reconnecting with his roots.

Andy is survived by his son Stephen Andrew Mickle (Carlyne) and grandson Henry, of San Francisco; son Christopher FitzGerald Mickle of Charleston, SC; sister Linda Mickle of Albany, NY; and companion of many years, Cynthia Ortego of Jasper, GA. He is also survived by his stepmother Ursula Mickle of Indian Trail, NC, and step-siblings Collette Amici of Norfolk, VA, and Torsten Gipperich (Abbey) of New Orleans, as well as beloved cousins, friends and colleagues.

The family will have a memorial ceremony in Atlanta to be announced at a later time.