Irving Weed Andrews

On Thursday, October 16th 2014, in Kerrville, Texas, IRVING WEED ANDREWS, JR fell asleep in Jesus just shy of his eighty-seventh birthday. He was born on Armistice Day, 1927, in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Irving Weed Andrews and Helen Lucile (Monks) Andrews. His childhood was spent in the central States where his father found work managing mines. Irv was close to his dad and from an early age wanted to have a career in mining. In the depression the family moved to Joplin, Missouri, and he always considered himself a ‘Joplin boy'. With a disarmingly affable personality, he had the capacity to make instantaneous friends, and the companionship's he formed in Second Grade continued to be celebrated in annual reunions until recently. A graduate of Joplin Junior College, Irv had opportunities to attend Missouri University and Duke University, but family circumstances prevented him from achieving his goal of being a mining engineer. For a brief time he served in the Navy, but when the war ended he struck out on his own staking mining claims in the Southwest. From 1950 to 1959 he hunted for uranium while based in Grand Junction, Colorado. The rugged life of the prospector suited him, and his love of flying, camping, hunting and fishing never left him. Then he met the ‘girl of his dreams', and on April 9th, 1955, he married Emily Louise Peters, from Denver, Colorado. When government uranium contracts were cancelled, Irv was forced to look for work elsewhere. The reputation he had earned in the field of mining brought him to the attention of the Gardner-Denver Company, where his knowledge of the industry, strong personal character and outgoing nature made him an excellent salesman. He ascended the company hierarchy from commissioned sales to Manager of Sales for North America. In 1980 he left the company after a corporate merger and started a mining division for Sullair Corporation as Corporate Vice-President. When the division was sold off in 1982, he went back into business on his own, building houses in Dallas Texas. In 1984, he retired to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, where he enjoyed playing golf and, with Emmy Lou, visiting friends across the country as members of the ‘RV' set. For the past twenty years he and Emmy Lou have lived in Ingram, Texas, where roots have gone deep in the church and local community. Those who were fortunate enough to have him as a friend will remember him as a humble and generous individual, who always believed the best in folks. He took delight in life's simplest things and was loyal to a fault. He was devoted to his family, providing cohesion and promoting a gentle conciliation at times of conflict. He had a special affection for the boys at the Pathways 3H Camp and never tired of sharing life lessons that he had learned from his own mistakes. Above all, he would want people to remember him as a man who had found Jesus, and who was confident in the peace with God that Jesus brings. He died surrounded by his family and secure in his Savior's arms. He is survived by his wife, Emmy Lou, his sons, Steve (Fawna) and Mike (Darlene) and grandchildren, Kristin (Ed), Clare (Luke), Daniel, Ellen, and Josh. Of his siblings, his sisters Alice Fryer and Sally Clements survive, while his brother, Tom, and special niece and adopted daughter, Amy, are deceased. The funeral will be held at Hunt United Methodist Church, 120 Merritt Road, SW, Hunt, Texas, on Monday, October 20th, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., Pastor Mike Cave presiding. Refreshments and opportunities to reminisce will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, Emmy Lou would ask that donations be made in Irving's name to Hunt United Methodist Church (HUMC), PO Box 137, Hunt, Texas, 78024, and designated for the ministry of Pathways 3H Boys' Camp. Irv's cremated remains will be interred in the Hunt United Methodist Church Columbarium at a later date. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Irving Weed Andrews please visit our Sympathy Store.

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