Andress High School - The Man Behind the Name - Theodore "Ted" Andress
The following is a biography on Ted Andress, the man for which Andress High School was named as told by his grand-daughter Staci Macha.
I am sure that many people must trace their family history
back several generations to discover a relative who led a life full of stories
worth passing down to future generations. Others search their family tree for
that distant relative who can give them their “claim to fame”.
On both sides of my family I have heard stories of relatives
who I could write about. But when I was given this assignment, it was not hard
to decide which relative I would write about. When I was young, I would hear
bits and pieces about this person and I knew he was very special. When I got
older I started asking my own questions about this person and became more
curious and interested in this person’s life. Now that I am writing this paper,
I can satisfy my curiosity about this relative and know more about him and his
life. The relative I am writing about is
my grandfather (on my mother’s side), Theodore Andress.
He was born in Naco, Arizona, on May 25, 1908, but moved to
El Paso the following year where he lived out the rest of his life. He
graduated from Alta Vista School in 1921, from El Paso High School in 1925 and
from El Paso Junior college in 1927. With only two years of college, he gained
entrance into law school at the University of Texas. He worked his way through
four years of law school by washing dishes at night and delivering papers in
the morning. He obtained his LL.B. degree in 1931, and after his graduation he
practiced law in El Paso until his death.
From 1933 – 1937 he was Assistant District Attorney and
achieved a reputation as an able and vigorous prosecutor. He resigned as Assistant
District Attorney in 1937 and formed a partnership with John Penn, which
continued until the death of John Penn. In 1941, he was named City Attorney
having served as Assistant the previous two years.
He was a member of the El Paso Bar Association and served as
President. He was also a member of the American Bar Association and the State
Bar of Texas and served on various committees of the State Bar.
When World War II broke out he volunteered for service with
the United States Naval Forces and served with the amphibious forces in the
Pacific area, participated in the landing of Iwo Jima, and served with
distinction in other campaigns throughout the Pacific. After forty-two months
on active duty at the war’s end he returned to El Paso as a Lieutenant
Commander in the United States Naval Reserve.
It is said that Theodore Andress was the most civic minded
man El Paso has ever had. He was awarded the Junior Chamber of Commerce
“Distinguished Service Key” as most outstanding young man of El Paso for 1941.
After having served as a Director of the El Paso Bar Association, he was
elected its President in 1955. He had
also been a director and past President of the El Paso Kiwanis Club, a Director
of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and headed the Red Cross drive in 1947. He
was president of the Southwestern Sun Carnival Association in 1953, and had
been head of the City-County Child Welfare Board and held offices in the Boy
Scouts of America District Board and
University of Texas Ex-students Association. At the time of his
presidency of the Kiwanis Club, the Good Will Industries was organized and he
served on its board for many years. He
was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Children’s Home and
of the Family Welfare Association.
He was named “Outstanding Citizen of El Paso for 1953” and
was presented an award as such by the El Paso Board of Realtors. He was a
member of the Owls, Elks, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Theodore Andress became a member of the El Paso Public
School Board of Trustees in 1950. He served as Vice-President for the 1957-58
term and was elected President of the Texas School Board Association and was a
director of the National Association of School Boards.
He was active in various political campaigns, not only in
his home town but on a state-wide basis and had a vast number of friends in
every part of the state. Among his close friends was Lyndon B. Johnson. When
Johnson ran for the U.S. Senate, Theodore Andress served as his campaign
manager.
On January 28, 1959, Theodore Andress met an untimely death
at the hands of an assassin. Even though my grandfather died before I was born,
I have some idea of what a truly great man he was. After his death two
resolutions were made in his memory. One of which was adopted by the House of
Representatives of Texas (see Appendix). On the day it was adopted the House of
Representatives adjourned in “the honor and memory of an outstanding public
servant, the Honorable Theodore Andress”, as recorded in the House Journal on
February 9, 1959. On the day of his funeral service the El Paso school district
canceled classes. Many of his friends contributed to the Ted Andress Memorial
Scholarship Fund which sent eight students through college at Texas Western.
Three years after his death in September of 1961; Andress High School opened in
El Paso.
My grandmother took me to visit Andress High School one
summer and as I walked around the campus I felt many different things. I
wondered if the students who attended Andress High School knew what kind of man
their school was named for. I felt sad and angered that I never had the chance
to know my grandfather. I wondered what my life would have been like if my
grandfather had not been killed.
My grandmother told me he would have been so pleased to know
his granddaughter was writing a paper about him. And that he would have loved
his grandchildren so dearly just as he loved his own children. She describes
him as a “disciplined, honest, Christian man...who believed in the law and was
very interested in politics and education”. In a letter sent to my grandmother
from Lyndon B. Johnson after my grandfather’s death (see Appendix) it reads,
“Your children can always hold their heads high with respect for their father
and for what he gave them in love and heritage.” After learning about my
grandfather and what kind of man he was, his grandchildren, at least one of
them, will also hold their heads high with respect for their grandfather and
what he gave them.
I hope somehow my grandfather will know that he has not been
forgotten and is truly missed by those who knew him, and especially by one who
did not.
(Note: the information in this paper was
gathered from resolutions on Theodore Andress and conversations with my
grandmother Lucille Andress Summeroford.)