John Leon "J.L." Andrews, Jr., 97 years old, of Richlands NC, passed away on February 17, 2023 after a battle with cancer.

J.L. was born on May 18, 1926 to John Leon Andrews Sr. and Mary Batchelor Andrews in Duplin County. J.L.'s father was a tenant farmer, so they moved around frequently in his youth. He lived in 36 houses before graduating high school! J.L. went to high school at Richlands High, where he played baseball and was voted "best known for his hair" and "the biggest flirt"! During high school, he joined the Navy at age 17 in 1943.He was stationed in Banbridge, Maryland where he served as a hospitalman. After the Navy, he went back to finish high school.

After graduating high school in 1947, J.L. went to heating and air conditioning school and worked in Raleigh, NC. He married and had a child, Greta Allen, and then divorced and moved back home to Richlands, NC.

J.L. went on to work at Camp Lejeune where he learned computer engineering. He worked as a civil servant and retired in 1978.

In 1959, J.L. first saw Oleta Mae Edwards Andrews at Camp Lejeune while she was driving in her car. He fell in love with Oleta at first sight as she drove by. He found out who she was and went to meet her at her home but had to be persistent because she was not there. He returned to Oleta's home so they could officially meet, and hit it off instantly as they were married the same year in 1959. They went on to have two children, Jeffrey and Johnny Andrews.

In 1978 when J.L. retired, he spent his time doing his favorite hobbies: gardening and restoring cars. J.L. loved to be outside doing his hobbies, as well as walking and taking care of his property of four acres. His favorite book was the Bible, and his hobbies also included reading car manuals. He watched Fox News if the TV was on and enjoyed music. He played the guitar and sang Bob Wills songs. He was also an impeccable whistler. He had a large collection of 78 rpm records, which included Bob Wills, Ink Spots, Spike Jones and his Wacky Waikikians. J.L. travelled to Europe with his family and got to experience France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and others. The highlight of his trip was Normandy where he enjoyed seeing the beaches where D-Day occurred.

J.L. was predeceased by John Leon Andrews Sr. and Mary Batchelor Andrews. He is survived by:

Spouse: Oleta Mae Edwards Andrews, Richlands, NC

Sons: Jeffrey Lynn Andrews (Gosia), Chicago, IL., and Johnny Bradford Andrews (Dawn), Cary, NC

Daughter: Greta Allen, Atlanta, GA.

Grandchildren: Emily Andrews, Ellen Andrews, Noah Andrews, Eliana Andrews, Madison Andrews Gerace, Lindsay Andrews, Brett Andrews, and Thomas Andrews

Great-Grandchildren: Victoria Tarro and Julian Gerace

Services will be held at the Community Funeral Home of Beulaville on 2/19/2013 at 2:30 PM

Community Funeral Home of Beulaville is honored to serve the Andrews family.