Rev Colin Andrews dies age 86

Reverend Colin Andrews, who served the community of Benoni from the pulpit of the Central Methodist Church for 14 years, died in Pinetown on May 23 after a long struggle with dementia at the age of 86.

He is survived by his wife, Christine, and his children, Britt van der Knaap, Chad, Rhett and Ryan Andrews, and eight grandchildren.

Andrews was ordained as a minister with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (Johannesburg) during the 1960s and went on to serve congregations across the country.

His appointments included the Russell Road Methodist Church in Port Elizabeth (1963), Rhodes University in Grahamstown (1964–1965), White River Methodist Church (1966–1970), Kempton Park Methodist Church (1971-1975), Benoni Central Methodist Church (1976-1990) and Durban North Methodist Church (1991 until his retirement in 2004).

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With a love for bonsai, reading, music, sport, the cinema, and theatre, Andrews’ service to the community extended to volunteer work, for which he also received many awards over the years.

His professional roles included spiritual director, pastoral and grief counsellor, trauma debriefer, public speaker, and marriage officer, among others.

Andrews was also a dedicated community volunteer.

He served on the Benoni West School Board in 1980 and was national chairperson of Life Line Southern Africa from 1983 to 1989. He also served on the Willowmoore High School Board (1984–1985), acted as mayoral chaplain from 1989 to 1990, and held the position of presiding world president of Life Line International between 1993 and 1996.

From 1993 to 1994, he served as a peace monitor in the townships for the Network of International Monitors.
Andrews’ work did not go unnoticed and he was honoured by several distinguished community organisations.

Some of these awards were:

• 1980: Distinguished Service Award – Jaycee South Africa, in recognition of outstanding service.

• 1984: Toastmasters International Communication Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to communication excellence.

• 1986: Merit Award Rotary Club of Benoni Van Ryn for devoted and unselfish service above self to the community.

• 1990: Paul Harris Fellow – awarded by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

• 1990: Honorary Award for dedicated service from Life Line East Rand.

A funeral service for Andrews will be live-streamed on the Pinetown Methodist Church’s Facebook page on June 6 at 11:00.

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