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Remembering Philip William Andrews by James R. Andrews, Brother (March 2000)

As far as I was concerned, brother Phil had the Midas touch - and I'm not talking about mufflers. If he wasn't a genius and totally brilliant, he was a certified, dead ringer imitation.  He was brainy, clever, artistic and talented, with exceptional building skills, and academically gifted well ahead of the pack. Now that's a lot to try to match as a younger brother. He was older and smarter than I ever was and evidently had his life's course completely plotted from inside the womb. Mom and Dad were very proud of Phil. He continued to deliver achievement after achievement. As a junior high  student at Roosevelt Junior High School in Decatur, he scratch built a  large (about 24" long) balsa wood Warren truss bridge for his math class. It's still used as an example of classic American bridge architecture and student achievement these 55 years later. When he was a high school student he built a Geiger counter. In addition to using this to monitor incident laboratory radioactivity, he was able to assist the local census takers and count every Geiger in central Illinois. (this is an old joke but still works in rural Pennsylvania)

Although not destined for the NFL, he played (some say second string) varsity football for the Decatur High School "Reds". He was a lineman and his weight followed generally along the lines of Newton's second and third laws of motion. When Phil went into the game, the coach was able to send three or four other linemen to the bench for a rest.

As a pre-med student in Millikin University, he designed and built an artificial heart resuscitator for dogs. The device was designed to encapsulate the dog's heart and "force" the beating. I watched him build it on the basement workbench at our Grand Avenue house. Preliminary tests clearly slowed the pulsing features. Regretfully, I never saw it in "live" action, but I did get into the act. I was asked to go out to look for an artificial dog on which to test it.

He was a golfer of marginal renown and played frequently with Mom's dad, "Daddy V". His handicap was about the same as his weight.

Phil was the only person I've ever seen simultaneously read two or three widely different subject matter books, listen to classical music and eat a 14 - layer "Dagwood" sandwich off the back of his hand.  Most of the rest of the Andrews family used fingers to close around such a treat, but he generally laid the sandwich on the back of his hand. He was a sight!  To me, the maddening part about all of this was that he could quote passages from the articles being read, hum passages of the music, and consume his gourmet creation, without losing anything from any of them.

In high school, Phil was Master Counselor in DeMolay, the highest office there.

This is called multi-faceted. For those who don't remember Dagwood refers to the "family  papers" of the 1940's and 1950's.

Phil completed the Millikin pre-med four year course in just three years and graduated with his soon-to-be­ bride, Marjorie Johnstone.  She was the prettiest young lady I'd ever seen.

While at Millikin, Phil did graduate-level cancer research for Millikin Professor Carl Weatherby, a well-known cancer researcher linked with the University of Chicago Medical School in Chicago. Phil was accepted at University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago and started as a freshman in 1953.

While he was a med student with all its pressures, he was a loving husband, soon a father when William Meredith (Bill) was born, and a Chicago Fire Marshal at a local theater to pick up a little spending money. He also enrolled in the USAF Reserves - good move. On graduation from medical school, Phil was placed on active duty as a captain, USAFR.  He was stationed first at Salina, Kansas, and later at Hickham AFB in Hawaii. When I was embarked on USS Coral Sea in 1964, I saw Phil and his family at Hickham. He was Chief of Aeromedical Research. While in Hawaii, Phil discovered a wonderful rum­ based drink - and introduced it to me. We hit it off from the start. I spent the '64-'65 New Year's Eve with Phil and family, including the rum. The celebration ended about 6:00 AM on January 1, 1965. After 34 years, I still recall that hangover headache very clearly. At the time, Phil and I both drank too much.

Phil's USAF career continued to progress on schedule and, as a full colonel, he was assigned as commanding officer at the USAF hospital in Umptysquat, Thailand. This was during the unfortunate and misguided situation of the southeast Asian area called "Mr. Johnson's War". Umptysquat was in the "thick" of the USAF activity against North Vietnam. While in Thailand, Phil developed his heart condition and he was sent to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas. The heart condition was extremely serious and his USAF career was now winding down.

Phil was a widely recognized international authority on orchid flowers, an accomplished artist in water colors (oils and charcoal too), a fantastic craftsman who could build anything, model railroader and railroad enthusiast, keeper of a spectacular green house, and studious monitor of the stock markets.

Whatever he did not get under the formal education system, he simply taught himself. He guided his life with skill and daring. Phil was a very tough act to follow, but a great example of accomplishment for his children.

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