A president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society, Andrews also served on the Norfolk City Council for 26 years and was mayor from 1992-1994.
[1] Andrews had attended the birth of about 5,000 babies in Norfolk before delivering Elizabeth Carr by Caesarian section on December 28, 1981, at the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), which he had played a leading role in creating just a few years earlier.
The first was Louise Brown in 1978 in the UK Writing at the time of Andrews' death, Patricia Sullivan of The Washington Post observed that "[t]he birth of the first U.S. 'test-tube baby' gave hope to hundreds of thousands of U.S. women who were unable to become pregnant.
Carr was the first of about 330,000 babies who have since been born through in vitro fertilization in the United States, according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine."
Andrews' community service began during the 1950s as a member of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the Health Welfare and Recreation Planning Council.
[3] In addition, as chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at EVMS, Andrews was instrumental in bringing the team of Drs.
Quoted by The Virginian-Pilot in 2006, Coleman remarked that "(Andrews') imprint is everywhere, from the waterfront to Main Street to Tidewater Community College to the medical center to the streetscapes – it just goes on and on.
"[5] Andrews promoted a downtown development strategy that combined meticulous planning with millions of dollars of city money to lure private investment.
[5] Andrews graduated from Maury High School, and later received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Princeton University in 1940 and his M.D.