Richard M. Andres, Ph.D.: 1932-2022

Richard M. Andres, Ph.D., a professor emeritus in aerospace and mechanical engineering, died Oct. 7, 2022. He was 90. 

Andres was born in St. Louis on June 24, 1932 to Mathias and Eva (Takatz) Andres. He joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school, serving as a torpedo specialist on the USS Piedmont off the coast of Korea between 1950-54.

After his commitment to the Navy ended, Andres returned home to obtain his bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Parks College in 1957. Following a stint as a wind tunnel designer for Sverdrup & Parcel, Andres returned to Saint Louis University.

Starting in 1959, Andres worked as an instructor in aeronautics at SLU while obtaining his master’s degree in aerospace engineering. He became an assistant professor in 1963, received his Ph.D. in meteorology from SLU in 1970 and was promoted to professor in 1976.

“I have known Dr. Richard Andres since 1975 when I was a student at Parks College,” said Steve Magoc, professor of aviation science at SLU. “Although I did not have him for a professor, I heard from aerospace and mechanical engineering students that Dr. Andres was a fantastic teacher who required much from his students but gave them much of himself in return. The engineering students always spoke very highly of him.”

Andres was an active faculty member for more than 40 years. He was also a private pilot, a rated airframe and power plant mechanic, and he built his own aircraft.

“I was able to see for myself the type of person Dr. Andres was when I came back to work for Saint Louis University at Parks College,” Magoc said. “I was able to see all of his qualities that the engineering students spoke so highly of first-hand when Dr. Andres stepped in to take on the chairperson position in the department of aerospace technology (formerly the department of aircraft maintenance engineering).”

Magoc said he always referred to Andres as Dr. Andres until Andres stopped him mid-sentence in a meeting to tell Magoc to call him ‘Doc.’

“Doc generously shared with our department’s students, staff, and faculty his knowledge, his expertise, and his skills,” Magoc said. “I learned a lot from Doc’s leadership, and today I try to work as he did – for the students, the department, the college and Saint Louis University. I felt a tinge of sadness when I heard Doc had passed away. Richard “Doc” Andres will be missed.”

Andres is survived by his wife of 65 years, Catherine (Reitz) Andres; three children, Karen (Mark) Budd, Kathryn (Gerald) Molidor, and Richard (Linda) Andres; 11 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was held Oct. 17, followed by burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.