Charlene P Andrews

Both Charles P. Andrews, Jr. and Ruth Cook served in the US Army Air Corp during WWII. When the war ended, they were both stationed at Ord Field near Paris France. There they met, courted, and were married in Paris on September 26th, 1946. When Ruth became pregnant, she left the military. Charles was sent to Germany shortly thereafter and their first child, Charlene, was born on August 10th, 1947, at the Army Hospital in Frankfurt Germany.

Her parents returned to the United States in 1949 when the military was downsized. Her father started university at the University of Colorado and was called back into active duty at the beginning of the Korean War.

Charlene’s parents were divorced several years later, and Charlene and her brother lived with their mother while she attended the University of Colorado, graduating in 1956 with a degree in English and a Minor in Speech and Hearing Therapy.

Ruth eventually remarried and the family moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Charlene was born with severe allergies and her skin would break out in sores all over her body. She was extremely allergic to coconut and chocolate in her early years. In kindergarten she was encouraged to eat a cupcake at a school birthday party. The icing had coconut in it, and no one thought a little coconut would hurt her. She passed out and was rushed to the hospital. The attending physician not knowing what was happening ordered a shot of Penicillin. It coagulated her blood which resulted in some brain damage.

Charlene was able to attend school and graduated from Los Alamos High School. Later when her stepfather developed Alzheimer’s, her mother placed her with ARCA.

In the Mid-1980’s, Charlene was involved in a pedestrian accident that left her with some physical disabilities. She remained within the ARCA program until her recent passing. Charlene will be buried with her mother at the beautiful Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.