Josiah Alwood Andrew, 1910-1991

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart." Josiah Alwood Andrew died in the first week of Advent, 1991 -a gentle and humble follower of the gentle and humble Lord.

Josiah Andrew was born on April 3, 1910, in August County, Virginia, the son of Kenny and Carrie Kiracofe Andrew. He attended the University of Virginia, and graduated from Bridgewater College and Wesley Theological Seminary.

Josiah had found the joy of Christ at an early age, and as his wife of 41 years, Helen, said he, "had been in religious work all his life." During World War II, he served his country as a chaplain's assistant. In 1949, he received his first full-time parish, a six-point charge, of which the largest church was the one at Stanley. That church had a pianist named Helen Dovel, and the new minister seemed to spend a lot of time consulting with the pianist over the choice of the Sunday hymns. At the end of his first year at the charge, the pastor and the church musician were married, on August I, 1950, in Stanley, by (now retired bishop) Kern Eutsler.

Josiah and Helen served churches in Page, Warren and Frederick counties for over 20 years. He was the pastor of Grace Church in Middletown for over 12 years, and retired in 1975 from the Fairview-Refuge Charge. In all of the churches he served, his gentle, principled, and faithful leadership was fondly remembered, in addition to his well-known habit of quoting his beloved 18th century English and American poets in his sermons. Literature was not only Josiah's college major; it and music were his major avocations. "I write a little bit of everything," he told the interviewer the year before he died, "history, fiction, hymns, plays, and even poetry sometimes." His hymns were sung in the churches he served; his major published play, "Holy Night at Oberndorff," was the Christmas play for a good number of local churches; and his history of the Winchester District, A Church in the Valley, is a valued pan of area church libraries.

It was in 1956 that Josiah and Helen came to live in Middletown; Helen still resides in that community. During his 35 years there, Josiah was active in many civic organizations, was a member of the Middletown Town Council, and for 30 years was the devoted chaplain of the Middletown Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.

Josiah died on December 5, 1991, at the age of 81. Perhaps an elegy he wrote a number of years ago speaks to us now:
Beyond the mystic sea,

Enjoy your life in the eternal home.
Then, at the portal fair,
Be waiting over there

To smile and bid us welcome when we come.

 

-Susan Schweitzer Garret