I do not know what that tall learned older gentleman saw in me when I was young. I was a strange knobby kneed girl prone to daydreaming and spending the day on my hands and knees in the woods watching ants marching back and forth. I would climb up the old worn green painted stairs to his front porch and ring the old bell by the side door. He would always have a minute to chat. He would escort me in through the rooms filled with books to his cramped and musty office. He was the first true academic I had ever met and I loved the exotic appeal of it. I am not sure why he would graciously tell stories of the world to me, but he would. He would offer advice on what I should do from his perspective, ask me about my grades and listen to what was interesting me at the time. He was always patient and I would love to listen to his soft voice describing the wonders of some foreign place he had been to. He was building my dreams with those conversations, giving the world to a little girl who had no idea of what lay beyond her suburban home.

He would sometimes give my parents money when they needed it. He was very generous and for years paid for a subscription to the Smithsonian Magazine for my family. This was another doorway for me. Through the pages of this magazine I discovered great painters, poets, writers and new ideas in science. These articles shaped my interest and I would cut out the pictures and hang them all over my bedroom walls. He gave me a room full of travels. I think if we could speak one last time, if I could climb those chipped green stairs and ring the bell, as he ushered me in I would tell him all that he has given me with his simple gifts of time and knowledge. I would tell him about all the other doors he ushered me into, the ones of great words and ideas. So tonight I find I must again say goodbye, goodbye Mr. Andrews and thank you.

Jim enjoyed growing roses in his rose garden and sharing them with his friends and neighbors. He also enjoyed giving out keychain lights to almost eveyone he met. For 10 years after his retirement he loved to travel and he visited all the major continents of the world. Jim was a Lt. Colonel in the US Army and served in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. Jim was affectionately known to all who knew him as a gentlemen's gentlemen. A sincere honest, thoughtful, generous and kind man who helped many throughout his life in many ways. He will be sorely missed. Like Will Rogers he never met a man or woman he didn't like. It was a genuine pleasure to know him.