Deepa Bharath
Anyone who shook hands with Jack Andrews got a taste of his
personality right away.
It was an iron grip -- strong and unforgettable, yet cordial and
endearing.
It's the kind of handshake you'd get from someone who is honest
and straightforward. Someone who doesn't mince words. A no-nonsense
kind of guy.
Jack was born in Pomona. His early childhood days were spent in La
Verne. Jack's family moved to Newport Beach in the post-Depression
years. He attended Newport Harbor High School, where he proved
himself an outstanding athlete. He surfed, sailed, wrestled and
played football.
After graduating from Newport Harbor in 1946, he moved on to
Orange Coast College, where he played football. He married his high
school sweetheart, Patricia, in 1953.
Jack was a daredevil when it came to hobbies, but his profession
was very much grounded in reality. He graduated from the University
of Southern California's School of Dentistry and followed in his
father's footsteps as a dentist. He practiced in Costa Mesa for more
than 40 years and had many loyal patients in the area who
affectionately called him "Dr. Jack."
He entered the U.S. Navy in 1953 and served in the Navy Dental
Corps in Korea and Japan.
Jack was a loving father to his three daughters. He raised the
girls to be active, independent and competitive. He told them that
they could either sit at home and do nothing or follow him and ski,
sail and ride horses.
The daughters followed their dad. Every weekend, he whisked them
off to the mountains or off to the rivers, lakes and deserts.
Jack was, in every inch, a Californian. He was as comfortable
sitting on a horse as he was standing on a surfboard.
Jack extended those invitations to adventure to his sons-in-law as
well. And they fought hard to win his approval. It meant that they
had to conquer mountains and cross turbulent waters, but they did it
because any time spent with him was worth immortalizing in a book of
memories.
Jack worked hard so he could play hard. He scoffed at golfers when
he was younger. But it became his passion after he retired. He moved
to Cowan Heights and became a full-fledged golfer. But even then, he
walked all 18 holes. He never rode in a golf cart.
Jack was a fighter. He had 17 melanomas and, ultimately, cancer
took his life. But, he conquered 16 of them. He was tenacious. He
believed in living every day as if it were his last.
It's almost as if he were bouncing back from the throes of death.
He'd be back on the golf course a week after his radiation treatment.
Jack lived the kind of life a lot of people only live in their
dreams.
