George Angell Andrews III, 67, passed away at his home on Saturday, February 23, 2019.
George was born March 25, 1951, at Stanford Medical Center near his childhood home of Menlo Park, California, to George A. Andrews Jr. and Jane Long Andrews. Born and raised in the heart of Silicon Valley, a short drive from Monterey Bay, the mountains and Pacific Ocean were his playground. George always felt at home here on the expansive prairies of Kansas, rolling wheat fields echoing the waves he loved so much.
His father, George, a San Francisco attorney, was his best friend. Together, as master climbers, they peaked mountains spanning the globe. At age 9, George climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington State. Throughout his teens and early twenties, the duo hiked Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, and hiked extensively in the Collegiate Peaks of Colorado (to name a few). George passed his love of hiking on to his daughters and in 2007, he and his daughter Amy peaked Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
An avid cyclist, George and his father crossed the United States on bicycle multiple times. Their transcontinental ride tradition was to start with their rear wheel in the ocean at the origin and dip their front wheel at the final destination. The duo took their first transcontinental ride together in 1974 when George was 23, riding from Vancouver, British Columbia to Key West, Florida, unassisted, in 30 consecutive days. Their next ride in 1975 was George’s ‘Bachelor Party,’ riding from Eastport, Maine to San Diego. On this ride, George left the team early to prepare for his wedding to his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Bollinger, in her hometown of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. George and Betsie were married on September 27, 1975 at Second Presbyterian Church.
George and Elizabeth ‘Betsie’ met in 1967, at the age of 16, in Chemistry class at Principia Upper School, a high school for Christian Scientists in St. Louis, Missouri. Their fathers attended this same high school together in the 1930s, which brought the young couple together so far from their respective homes. The pair dated through high school, graduating in 1969, and attended Principia College together in Elsah, Illinois. Their daughters, Amy and Kathryn, are grateful the chemistry worked. George graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Principia College in 1973, double majoring in Business and Sociology.
George and Betsie began their lifelong love of traveling together in college on the World Campus Afloat program, now called Semester at Sea. They sailed aboard the S.S. Universe for a semester in college from New York City to Los Angeles – circumnavigating the globe in the spring of 1972. Semester at Sea continued to be a highlight of their experience together and the pair sent both their daughters on the voyage during their own college educations.
George and Betsie sailed on several more voyages with Semester at Sea including a voyage down the Amazon in 2002; rounding Cape Horn from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile in 2010; and a brief voyage through the Bahamas, traveling on board with esteemed guest, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2005.
George and Betsie moved to Hutchinson directly after their wedding in 1975, where George was offered a job working in his maternal grandfather’s business, Consolidated Manufacturing. George worked in different facets of the business, enjoying the company and experience of the plant employees over the job itself.
Ultimately, George’s career followed his pattern of being an early adopter of technology. He was one of the first to have what seemed to be an apartment-sized satellite TV dish, the car phone that took up half the front seat and a predecessor to the Palm Pilot, the Apple Newton, that he would scratch notes on incessantly mostly to see scribble translate magically into type.
Not surprisingly, George was the first person in the state of Kansas to own a Macintosh computer in 1984. He was a champion of the Apple brand from its inception, which led him to open his own consulting business, MacSolutions, out of his home. George was always tickled when he could convert a die hard PC user into being, as his family called him, a ‘Mac Man’. His daughters both have followed career paths that center around being ‘Mac Women’ and he was always so thrilled to learn more from them as their knowledge began to surpass his own. Many will attest that George’s passion and excitement surrounding this new technology changed the way they lived, worked and communicated with their loved ones.
Being an accomplished motorist and a motorcycle enthusiast, he frequented the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota on his beloved Harley Davidson Sportster, now driven by his youngest daughter (much against Betsie’s better judgement). Many of George’s adventures started with a twinkle in his eye as he fearlessly set out on road and trail – the journey always more important than the destination.
George loved his community here in Hutchinson and was a quiet champion for many local organizations, especially in the arts. He was a founding board member of the Hutchinson Family Children’s Theater, a founding board member of Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre, and a founding board member of Prairie Nutcracker Foundation, Inc. He was a member of Rotary International, sang with the Reno County Choral Society, performed in multiple Hutchinson Follies and HFCT Productions. He was also a long time soloist and reader at Hutchinson’s First Church of Christ, Scientist on Main Street, where he was a devoted member for over 40 years.
We could not mention George without his love of Sand Hills State Park near his home, where he put in thousands of miles solo, with family, and in the past few years, with his devoted caregivers who joyfully if not breathlessly walked beside him. He and his family thank these kind individuals, in particular his hiking companion, Mick Groom and the limitless support of the families of Kathy and Hank Gier and Lisa and Robert Vieyra.
George’s family was, and continues to be, the center of a life well lived. He is survived by his chemistry partner and most grateful wife of 43 years, Betsie Andrews; his daughters, Amy Andrews Burky (Jonathan) of Seattle, WA, and Kathryn Andrews of Narrowsburg, NY; grandchildren, Benjamin and Lily Burky of Seattle, WA; sister, Susan Williams (Randall) of Goleta, CA; 10 nieces and nephews; and treasured friends.
Something George always said at the beginning of a family road trip we now say to you, sweet partner and father: ‘Dad, you’re on the King’s Highway and all the lights are green.’
A celebration of George’s life and love of nature will take place at the Visitor’s Center at Dillon Nature Center on a warmer Sunday on May 26, 2019, from 1:00-3:30 p.m. Friends may sign his memorial book at Elliott Mortuary.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Semester at Sea, Principia’s Bill Simon Fieldhouse, Dillon Nature Center, or Hutchinson’s Historic Fox Theatre, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.
