More detail on this person: James Gillis
Andress, 69, died March 11.
He was born Jan. 5, 1939 in Hamlin, Texas, and
grew up in Gardena, Calif.
He was awarded an appointment to the United
States Military Academy at West Point, graduating
with a bachelor of science in military engineering
in 1962.
At the Army-University of Michigan football game,
he met Lyn Holt, who was to become his wife of 44
years (Jim recently joked to his eldest grandson,
"Michigan may have won the game, but I got the
girl"). They were married in 1963, after James
completed Ranger and Airborne/Infantry School,
and moved to Hawaii, where he was stationed at
Schofield Barracks as a 2nd Lieutenant with the
25th Infantry Division.
He was promoted to captain, commanding C
Company of the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th
Infantry Regiment, serving in Vietnam from January
through December, 1966. For his "personal valor,
courage, and determination" in leading his troops,
he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for heroism.
Mr. Andress earned an MBA from Wharton
Business School and subsequently worked as a
consultant for Booz, Allen, and Hamilton in
Chicago from 1969 through 1974. He left to work
for Abbott Laboratories, becoming president of
Abbott's operations in Canada. He later ran
Abbott's Pacific/Far East business, and eventually
started and ran their Home Health Care Division
until 1984.
He left Abbott to become president of Sterling
Drug in New York, where he successfully fended off
a hostile takeover attempt by Hoffman-LaRoche,
negotiating the sale of Sterling to Kodak in 1988.
He then headed Beecham Pharmaceuticals
worldwide business from London and oversaw its
merger with SmithKline in 1989.
Leaving pharmaceuticals in 1989, he was CEO at
Information Resources in Chicago until 1996,
taking the market research firm from a start-up
enterprise to a leader in the industry. He then
returned to pharmaceuticals, leading the spinoff
and IPO of Warner Chilcott, a pharmaceutical
company in New Jersey, before retiring in 2000.
Mr. Andress's business experience and acumen
made him a sought-after and respected advisor and
he served on many boards including AOL (where he
cast the deciding vote against selling to
Microsoft in 1998), Genetics Institute, Liposome,
OptionCare; and most recently Allstate,
Dade-Behring, Sepracor, Xoma, and Warner
Chilcott. He also served on Northwestern
University's Kellogg advisory committee and the
board of Lake Forest College.
He was a member of Old Elm Club, Onwentsia
Club, Chikaming Country Club, The Dunes Club,
and The Chicago Club.
With a truly rare combination of integrity, wit,
compassion and intellect, he lived his life fully.
His wisdom on a broad range of subjects was
always highly valued, and his deep and unwavering
love for his many friends and extended family will
be remembered and cherished with profound
gratitude. Whether it was playing the banjo,
swinging a golf club, traveling the world, or
simply sharing a glass of wine by the fire, time
spent with the man his grandkids knew as "Popi"
was always filled with laughter and the sense that
if you were fortunate enough to have shared these
things with him that you were always much the
richer for it.
He is survived by wife Carolyn of Lake Forest;
daughter Carolyn of Melbourne, Australia (Charles
Hough); son Andrew of Lake Forest (Megan);
daughter Sarah of London, England (Michael
Alexander); six grandchildren; brother Steven
Andress (Elizabeth) of Lexington, Mass.; and
parents James and Ruth Andress of Abilene,
Texas.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in
James Andress's name to Children's Memorial
Foundation, 2300 Children's Plaza, Box 4, Chicago,
IL 60614 Attn: Nicole Ashmus), or to a charity of
your choice.
At his request, memorial services will be held at
a later date.
Arrangements were made by Wenban Funeral
Home, Lake Forest. Lake Forester (Lake Forest,
IL) - Thursday, March 20, 2008
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/11/2023
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