David H. Andrews, Capt. (Retd.) U.S.Army

David “ANDY” Andrews was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1923. The youngest of four children and the only boy. His father George Andrews was a printer for a local paper and died of lead poisoning, leaving behind a wife, Laura Andrews, to find a means of support for herself and her son.

The three girls Laura, Mona and Marge had all grown up and married but lived in the surrounding areas and took young Dave in when ever they could in the summer time while his mother cleaned the residents of the local priest. She was able to put him through a Catholic school and onto St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He was a dedicated alter boy, basketball player and a medic on the side lines of the football field.

He joined the United States Army in 1941 and did his basic training in El Paso, Texas where he chose the path of microbiology. He was shipped to New Guinea during WWII where he served as a medic, fighting the Japanese and worked on perfecting the malaria vaccine.

When he returned to the states, he meet his love Velma Adeline Enney who he married in 1949 in Fargo, North Dakota. They had three children David Michael, Susan Elizabeth, and Stephen Alan. David Michael was born in Minneapolis, Susan At Walter Reed in Washington DC, Stephen at Fitzsimmons Army General in Denver, Colorado.

Leaving Washington DC, Dave was assigned to Salzberg, Austria where he worked for about 9 months in a lab. It was so close after the war that the Austrians did not want the Americans there so Dave had the choice of going remote to France or take a demotion and keep the family together and go to Livorno. Italy where they lived for three years.

The next tour brought the family back to the states to Denver, Colorado where Stephen Alan was born. In 1961 the family was transferred to Ft. Buchanan, Puerto Rico where he worked in a research lab in beautiful downtown San Juan for 4 years. The family loved the sun, the beaches, golfing and the life time of friends they would acquire. The family returned in 1965 to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas to be assigned to the burn center where he worked making sure to keep the bacteria out of the burn salve which BAMC is world famous for. As soon as Dave got to San Antonio, he got immediate orders for Japan and mom said NO! She had enough of uprooting her kids. After 25 years of the United States Army, he retired in 1968 as Captain. They knew they both did not want to return to a state with snow so they decided that San Antonio would be their new home, where all three kids graduated from Roosevelt High School.

Retirement didn’t sit well with him being still so young so he acquired a job in Pathology at Methodist Hospital as a micro biologist where he worked until his yet, second retirement.

He chose the life of staying home and golfing and boredom set in so he went to work at National Health Lab where he finally at the age of 72 retired completely. Later they invested and co-owned an RV repair shop which later they let go of to travel in there beloved motor home to wherever they could go.

In 2009 his oldest Son was killed by a passing car that set the family in a deep sorrow. It was the start of the physical decline for both of them until they both landed in an Assisted Living facility where with their warm personality and infectious smiles that they found yet another chapter of their lives they called “home” and he would be called “Pop” by all the aids who loved him and Velma was always “Mom” by all.

Dave with his great personality would tell jokes and make every Friday for Happy Hour and any activity that his friends were at.

He loved the visits from the grandkids and greatgrandchildren, getting burgers, raiding claw “toy machines”.

Blessed by 64 years of marriage with Velma until her death in 2013.