Frank Andrews - Obituary

rank Arland Andrews Captain, US Navy (Retired) Captain Frank A. Andrews was born in Newport, Rhode Island on June 30, 1921 and died at the age of 92 from natural causes on February 22, 2014 in Annapolis, MD. Born to Frank A. Andrews, Sr. and Helen Fallon Andrews, Captain Andrews graduated from Rogers High School in Newport, RI and had aspirations of attending the US Naval Academy but found out that at his age of 16 he was too young for Academy admission. As a result, Captain Andrews attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute on a scholarship for one year before receiving an appointment to the US Naval Academy. While at the Academy, Captain Andrews excelled academically and athletically. He stood first in his class after his plebe year and by the time of graduation stood fourth overall. Captain Andrews was on the school's varsity soccer and lacrosse teams and was the soccer team's captain during his senior year. His roommate and future brother-in-law, James Patrick Neenan, arranged a blind date with his sister, Jean Clair Neenan. She was to become his wife after a brief courtship during World War II. Captain Andrews graduated from the Naval Academy in December 1941 of the Class of 1942. This class's graduation date was accelerated due to the start of World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Captain Andrews was assigned to the destroyer USS DUNCAN (DD-485) in the Pacific which was mortally wounded during the Battle of Cape Esperance. Captain Andrews and his shipmates had to abandon ship and then spent the next eight hours treading water in shark-infested waters. Captain Andrews was then assigned to the USS SHUBRICK (DD-639) in the Atlantic. This ship was eventually sunk in the Mediterranean during a nighttime air raid. After this incident, he made a change in warfare selection that would forever change his life and the lives of future Naval submariners. In winter 1944 he was transferred to submarines where he continued on four war patrols on USS SENNET (SS-408) -the last one as Executive Officer into the Sea of Japan. Upon completion of WWII, Captain Andrews attended and completed Naval Post Graduate School followed by obtaining a Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University. Captain Andrews was then assigned as commissioning Commanding Officer of the USS SSK-1. This boat was the Navy's first submarine built with array sonar technology which considerably improved a submarine's sonar detection ability over WWII generation sonar systems. In addition, recommendations by Captain Andrews to improve sound isolation, stealth operating techniques and utilization of passively received sonar signals to detect unseen vessels were incorporated in later submarine designs. One of the ship's wardroom officers later became President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. After K-1, Captain Andrews assumed his second submarine command (USS HARDER, SS-568) and became the Submarine Project Officer at David Taylor Model Basin and then Prospective Commanding Officer (PCO) Instructor on SubPac Staff in Pearl Harbor, HI. It was during this tour that Captain Andrews suddenly lost his wife, Jean, and their unborn child from complications of her pregnancy. As a widower and father to five children, Captain Andrews continued onto to ComSub Div 72 in Pearl Harbor in 1957. Serendipitously, he met M. Maxine Johnson through mutual friends and they were married shortly afterwards. Captain Andrews then assumed chairmanship of the Science Department at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD where his family lived from 1958 to 1962. Captain Andrews was then ordered to be Commodore of Submarine Development Group Two in New London, Connecticut. This organization's mission is to develop, evaluate and disseminate advanced submarine tactics to the operating submarine force. Captain Andrews' efforts established the foundation for the US Naval submarine's superiority in the 1960's and beyond. One significant tragedy occurred during his command was the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN-593) in April 1963. Immediately after the ship's sinking, Captain Andrews was at sea commander of the search and salvage operation. At that time the Navy had no expertise in locating and salvaging objects on the deep ocean floor. Under Captain Andrews' leadership, the Thresher was located, mapped and photographed to document all visual data over the course of Summers of 1963 and 1964. This experience was later called upon by the US Navy having Captain Andrews participate in the search operations for the USS SCORPION (SSN-589) and H-Bomb (January 1966). Captain Andrews retired from active military duty in 1964 and his military awards included the Silver Star, Navy-Marine Corps Medal, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, SECNAV Commendation, and Navy Unit Citation among many others. Upon leaving the military, Captain Andrews moved his family to Annapolis, MD and joined the Engineering Faculty at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC. His principal activities included teaching and performing research in sonar and underwater acoustics in the school's Ocean Engineering graduate program. In this role, he raised CUA's stature by focusing graduate research efforts to areas of high interest to the Office of Naval Research (ONR). In the early 1970s, in parallel to his efforts at Catholic University, Captain Andrews was a key principal in the foundation of General Physics Corporation, an organization with training expertise in naval sonar and commercial nuclear power engineering. Captain Andrews' contributions in expanding the company's operations contributed towards General Physics' initial public offering in 1982. Captain Andrews fully retired in 1988 and remained in the Annapolis, MD area. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jean Claire Neenan Andrews, and brothers-in-law James Patrick Neenan and Charles Francis Flynn. Captain Andrews is survived by his wife who he has been married to for 54 years, M. Maxine Johnson Andrews. He is also survived by his sister, Helen Andrews Flynn of Newport, RI who remained a close friend throughout his life. He is also survived by 12 children: Patrick Andrews (Annapolis, MD); Jeffrey Andrews (Silver Spring, MD); Philip Andrews (Dominican Republic); Jean Andrews Phelan (Beaumont, TX); James Andrews (Cincinnati, OH); Mary Andrews Gunther (Annapolis, MD) ; Thomas Andrews (Fayetteville, NC); Frank Andrews (Wilmington, DE); Theresa Andrews (Wilmington, DE); Daniel Andrews (Annapolis, MD); Timothy Andrews (Annapolis, MD) and Susan Andrews (Wilmington, DE). In addition to his children, Captain Andrews is survived by 24 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. Of Captain Andrews' accomplishments, he was most proud of his children and their respective accomplishments. He was completely devoted to his family and did everything possible to ensure their problems were his. Family and friends may call on Thursday, March 6 from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Friday, March 7 at 10:30 AM at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 620 N. Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Mary’s Tuition Angel, 109 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis MD 21401. An online guestbook is available by clicking the link on this page.