Mark Edward Andrews Iv

On the morning of April 13, 2014, Mark passed away at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL, as a result of complications following cranial surgery on April 8, 2014.  Mark was 76 years old. Mark was born in Shreveport, LA on July 6, 1937.  He was the first child of Theril Rodric Andrews and Jessie Mae Gilcrease Andrews, formerly of Warren, AR and North Little Rock, AR. At a proud but trying time in American history, Mark was intrigued as a young student when learning about military “code talkers”, the American term for the use of Navajo language as a secret code to prevail in Allied Operations overseas.  He also showed keen interest in his studies of the English language and music.  Not only was Mark a seeker of knowledge; he also had exceptional intellect, abilities and talent.   As a child Mark mastered the mandolin, and his talent and exceptional singing voice earned him performances on radio, and at the Louisiana Hayride and Barnyard Frolics at the Robinson Auditorium in Little Rock.  Such greats as Elvis Presley, Jim Ed Brown and Maxine, among others, also performed on these venues at the Robinson Auditorium.   Mark excelled in his studies at North Little Rock High School and enjoyed being editor of the school newspaper.  His academic achievements allowed him to graduate high school at the age of 16, followed by college at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, where he was also editor of the college newspaper, and Mark was ordained as a Baptist minister at this time. Following the death of his father in 1954, the military offered a way for Mark to serve his country and continue his education, so he enlisted in the United States Air Force.  Mark was sent to Yale University to study Foreign Eastern Languages, and receive training by the National Security Agency. Becoming fluent in Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese, Mark achieved his boyhood dream to work in secret code breaking, which was during the very early days of the Vietnam War.  Mark worked with a select group of servicemen who intercepted Asian aircraft transmission, broke their codes, and translated quickly into English their radio transmissions for the American High Command. Today these secret groups are part of declassified military history.  Mark returned to civilian life following his honorable and exceptional military service to pursue his other passion, writing.  Moving to New York City, he became an editor at the New York Daily News, and authored a weekly syndicated Audio column in the newspaper.  He later served as the editor of the trade publication, High Fidelity Trade News.  Mark was also a published author of 4 fictional novels, and he taught Chinese at Berlitz Language School. In the early days of the computer age, Mark taught himself in computer science.  Becoming proficient in writing computer code, Mark developed computer games as a hobby in his spare time.  Subsequently, he moved to Silicon Valley in California and worked as a technical writer under contract with both Apple and Microsoft for their sentinel products.  And, he became a published author in the computer industry.  Computer programmers globally continue to reference his 2 latest books on Microsoft Visual Programming. Mark retired to Reno, NV and subsequently relocated to Florida where he was a resident at Life Care Center in Jacksonville, FL. Mark was preceded in death by his parents, Jessie Mae and Theril Rodric Andrews, and daughter, Teresa Kay Andrews.   His daughter Cynthia Lee Wyly, granddaughters Teresa Michelle Swafford and Madeline Rose Wyly of North Little Rock, AR, and brothers Dale Ray Andrews of Jacksonville, FL and Theril Rodric Andrews II of Heber Springs, AR survive Mark. Mark’s family wishes to extend special thanks to his close friend, Jose (Joe) DeMoranville, and the staff at Life Care for their care, attention and support. Cremains will be interred in the Andrews’ family plot at Oakland Cemetery in Warren, AR at a graveside service on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.  Family condolences or flowers may be sent to Frazer’s Funeral Home in Warren, AR frazerfuneralhome@sbcglobal.net