George N. Andrews

1930 - 2021

George N. Andrews, Colonel U.S. Army (Ret.), died on March 17, 2021 in Williamsburg, VA at the age of 90. He was born April 1, 1930 to Edgar and Margaret Andrews and grew up in Hamilton, MA. Following graduation from the University of Vermont in 1951 with a BS degree in civil engineering and as a distinguished military graduate from Army ROTC, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Regular Army Corps of Engineers. His first overseas assignment was in England with the 928th Engineer Aviation Group on airfield construction for the U.S. Air Force. It was in England that he met Hazel Cartwright who became his best friend, love of his life, and life partner. They married in June 1955. He next attended the engineer officer advanced course at Ft. Belvoir, VA and then New York University where he received a masters degree in industrial engineering and management in 1958. He had various assignments during the next several years including teaching ROTC at Michigan Tech; the resident engineer on the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) construction in Greenland; Worldwide Assignments Officer on the Army Staff in Washington, D.C.; and Aide to the Army Chief of Engineers. During 1964-65, George attended the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, KS and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA for German. He served three years at the US Embassy (then located in Bonn, Germany), where he managed U.S. foreign military sales to the German military. In Vietnam during 1969-70, he was the Executive Officer of the 45th Engineer Group at Phu Boi followed by command of the 31st Engineer Combat Battalion, in support of the 1st Air Calvary Division at Phuoc Vinh. After further service on the Army General Staff in the Pentagon and at Ft. Belvoir as Deputy Commander of the Engineer Agency of the Combat Development Command, he attended the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy in 1973. He then served three years at SHAPE in Belgium where he managed NATO infrastructure for war headquarters, missile sites and training areas in Europe. His final assignment was Director of Facilities Engineering at Ft. Dix, NJ. He retired from the U.S. Army in June 1977 after 26 years of service. His awards include the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf clusters, the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf cluster. After retirement from the Army, George worked first in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia and later at Sinop and Izmir in Turkey, and at Kwajalein and Roi Namur in the Marshall Islands, in engineering, construction, operations and site management positions on U.S. Army and Air Force construction and base operations contracts. After Saudi Arabia, he earned an MBA degree at Florida Atlantic University and CPA certification. He worked as a CPA before going to Turkey in 1983. In 1993, he and Hazel moved to Williamsburg, VA where they resided at Kingsmill for 20 years before moving to Brookdale in October 2013. Hazel accompanied her husband on all 20 years of his overseas assignments, both military and civilian, except for Greenland and Vietnam. George was a life member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Phi Kappa Chi Honor Society, J.T. Heard Masonic Lodge in Ipswich, MA, Military Officers Association of America, and the Association of the U.S. Army. He was a former member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Lions Club in Houghton, MI, Rotary Club in Southbridge, MA, and the Kingsmill Golf Club. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Hazel, daughter, Marilyn Masson and son-in-law, Robert Rosenswig, grandchildren, Daniel and Rylen Rosenswig of Albany, NY, grandson, Alec Masson of Tallahassee, FL, great grandchildren, Margot and Wyatt Masson of Tallahassee, FL, and sister, Sarah (Anderson) of Peterborough, NH. A graveside service and interment with full military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Online condolences for the family may be shared at www.nelsenwilliamsburg. com..