James D. Andrew 1920

James D. Andrew was born in Lakewood, Ohio, on January 8, 1920, the third child of Dudley Andrew and Anna Grebe. He attended St. Clement's grammar school, Cathedral Latin High School, and Case Institute of Technology. General Electric hired him out of college, just as he was engaged to Lois Jeannette Zurlinden of Cleveland who would share his life for sixty-two years, Although Pearl Harbor intervened, they were married January 24, 1942. He was sent on assignment to Nevada to work on the final stages of the construction of Boulder Dam.

Children and new job assignments followed in quick succession as a growing family moved to Evansville, Cincinnati, Schenectady, Dayton, Detroit, and Adrian. In 1953 Jim drove Lois, Patricia, Dudley, Paul, and Russell from Michigan to southern California on Route 66, making a memorable side-trip to the Carlsbad Caverns. Jim had been hired by Douglas Aircraft Corporation, where he proved himself by contributing substantially to the design of the electrical system of the DC-8. He rose to high office in the Aircraft Electrical Society, serving as president for a time. Then came the aerospace boom and a series of exciting jobs at Space Technology Laboratories in Canoga Park, Planning Research Corporation in Westwood, and finally TRW in Redondo Beach. He specialized in communication and encryption, which made much of his work top secret. However, a memorable and highly public moment occurred in 1972 when the Mariner spacecraft orbited Mars, sending back the first pictures from any planet-at 4 bits of information per second! Jim, in charge of that transmission, stood in the big room at Jet Propulsion Laboratories as the screen gradually filled in with the image of Mars. Given the intensity with which he pursued his occupation, many were surprised when at age 60 he opted to retire, although for years he accepted requests to serve as consultant.

In their Pacific Palisades home his family had first doubled in size (Mark, Annette, Marcia, and Phil followed their older siblings through grammar school at Corpus Christi), then gradually dispersed around the globe. Jim had kept up with their exploits and troubles, and maintained a close tie to Corpus Christi parish, where for a time he served as chief lector and taught for the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. He also recorded technical books for the blind and coached little league. Despite these obligations, his retirement had left him untethered so that he and Lois could travel to Greece, Spain, France, England, Mexico and Japan, often meeting up with their children. When at home, Jim slowly sank into the temptation and frustration of golf. Much of his time and attention went to bettering a modest game. Did this really precipitate his move to Solana Beach where he and Lois joined the country club? Although the course's challenges often thwarted him, those of his new house were no match for his handyman skills. He and Lois loved their new environment and were welcomed by the parish at Saint James and a wealth of friends in the area.

These prosperous years reached a glorious plateau on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, kicked off by a carefully orchestrated surprise family reunion in Iowa during a snowy Christmas and culminating in a party at Lomas Santa Fe country club early in 1992. Then, despite a regular regimen of exercise, came the blow of a serious stroke that completely incapacitated him from 1994 on. Although confined to a bed and wheelchair in the den, he saw and heard everything around him and interacted in his inimitable way with his wife, his son Phil and family living nearby, his two caretakers, and all the visiting children and grandchildren who regularly passed through. For ten years he remained in an unchanged state, but never lost his sense of humor or his affectionate feelings for his family that grew up around him, including twenty grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Then in the spring of 2004 his body quickly failed and he died peacefully, with his wife and son Russell at his side, on June 18. Twenty-five members of his immediate family gathered to remember him and then bury him at the Mission of San Luis Rey.

Brigid Andrew and David Johnson
Javier Andrade and Brenda Robles
Nell Andrew and Gregory Smolik
Harvey and Nuchanart Andrew
Carlos Andrade
Xanat Andrade
Kevin and Esia Andrew
Todd Andrew
James Andrew
Martin Andrew
Rebekah Lesher
Nina Andrew
Sarah Lesher
Liam Andrew
Caleb Lesher
Kyla Andrew
Jacob Andrew
Xochiti Camacho
Ivan Camacho
Kellen Andrew