JAMES F. ANDREW Feb. 27, 2016

James (Jim) Fletcher Andrew passed away peacefully from heart failure at his home in Los Alamos on Saturday, February 27, 2016. 

He was born in a small town in northwest North Carolina in 1925, and would soon have been 91 years old. He grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina and attended Guilford College in Greensboro for his undergraduate degree in Physics. He went on to earn an M.S. from North Carolina State (1951) and a Ph.D. (1962) from the University of Buffalo, both in Experimental Physics.

He met the love of his life, Marie Orvis while at Guilford College and married her in 1951. Their two daughters, Nancy and Kathy were born in 1956 and 1961, and in 1966 they welcomed Emmy into the family. In 1962, he moved the family from Buffalo to Brigham City, Utah for a short stint at Thiokol Chemical. The family then moved to Los Alamos in 1963, where he was employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the next twenty-three years. He worked primarily on the physical properties of Plutonium and Plutonium alloys in CMF-5, CMB-11, and later TA-55. 

He retired in 1986 and fully enjoyed activities that included hiking, fishing, tennis, golf, horses with his girls, gardening, volunteering for Bandelier National Monument, travel, working out at Los Alamos Fitness Center, and time with family and friends. Always mechanically minded, he could fix anything, and enjoyed the challenge of doing so. 

Beloved and devoted husband, father, and friend, his gentle, caring spirit and joyful sense of humor will be deeply missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Marie Andrew of Los Alamos, his daughters Nancy Andrew of Colorado Springs, CO, Kathy Andrew of Brattleboro, VT, and Emmy Ratliff of Castle Rock, CO and grandchildren Dylan, Riley, and Grayson Ratliff, all of Castle Rock.

A memorial service will be held at the United Church of Los Alamos on Saturday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Los Alamos Visiting Nurses or a charity of choice.