Minnie Andrews, RN, ANC, 1894-1981

Minnie Andrews was born on July 30, 1894 to John Carnabau Andrews and Louisa Caroline Brown. Minnie joined a growing family featuring Charlotte (b. 1886), twins Bessie and Jessie (b. 1888), Pearl (b.1890), and Frank (b.1892). The final member of the family, Lucy joined the family in mid-1898. John and Louisa were married in Garfield County in 1886, where Louisa lived. Land records for John C. Andrews show that the young couple obtained land near the city of Pampa, Washington in 1891 under the Homestead Act of 1862. Pampa, founded around 1883, was a small town in Whitman County that was a railroad stop for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company and featured rolling hills of rich grass, which led to successful sheep and cattle ranches.In one publication, John is listed as a farmer and stock dealer. No birth records for the Andrews children have been found but based on land and census records it is likely that Minnie was born in or near Pampa, Washington.

Around 1905-1906, John and Louisa moved their family from small town Pampa to Bellingham, Washington. The family did not stay long in Bellingham, moving to the rural farm land outside of Ferndale, Washington by 1910. On January 6, 1914, Louisa suffered a stroke and passed away at the age of 53 years old. Minnie remained at home until a year later when she decided to pursue nursing training at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bellingham. In early April 1918, Minnie along with 10 other nurses graduated from the nursing program.

Twelve days after the United States entered World War I, the Andrews family got devastating news that John had stomach cancer. He battled the disease for only ten days and on April 28, 1917, he passed away. He is buried next to his wife in Bayview Cemetery. Minnie answered the call for nurses to aid in war efforts and enlisted on May 27, 1918. She spent just short of a year in service, including time at Base Hospital 50, and returned home to Bellingham in late May 1919.

For several years, Minnie’s oldest sister Pearl had been working at Kulshan Hospital in nearby Sumas, Washington. After her return from the war, Minnie found work with her sister at the hospital as a nurse. Their younger sister Lucy also found work at the hospital around 1919. The 1920 census shows the three sisters living at the hospital; with Pearl as the matron of the hospital and Minnie and Lucy working as nurses. On Christmas Eve 1921, Kulshan Hospital was destroyed in a fire. The local newspaper reported that no patients were in the hospital but several nurses were sleeping there.

Minnie found love and married Dean Kjoeller West on July 7, 1921. Dean had been born and raised in Sumas and worked as a manager for West Grocery & Hardware, his father Peter’s general merchandise store in Sumas. According to census records and city directories, it appears Minnie left nursing behind after her wedding.

Minnie’s youngest sister Lucy contracted tuberculosis in late 1922. Despite the illness, she married Belmont Hendrickson on Feb. 4, 1923. Tragically, Lucy's honeymoon was cut short when the infection in her lungs took her life just ten months later on December 14, 1923.


On December 10, 1924 Minnie and Dean welcomed their first child Robert Frank West. A little over 3 years later, the couple welcomed a daughter Marjorie Louise West. By 1930, Dean had taken over West Grocery which he would run for at least the next ten years. The couple remained in Whatcom County, likely in Sumas, for the remainder of their lives. Dean passed away on September 15, 1977. Four years later, Minnie passed away on March 16, 1981 in Sumas. The couple is buried beside each other in Sumas Cemetery.

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Sources: 

1. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Census Place: Pampa, Whitman, Washington; Roll: 1754; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0102; FHL microfilm: 1241754.
2. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Census Place: Ferndale, Whatcom, Washington; Roll: T624_1674; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 0346; FHL microfilm: 1375687.
3. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Census Place: Surnas, Whatcom, Washington; Roll: T625_1944; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 266; Image: 491.
4. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Census Place: Sumas, Whatcom, Washington; Roll: 2522; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0052; Image: 903.0; FHL microfilm: 2342256.
5. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Census Place: Nooksack, Whatcom, Washington; Roll: T627_4369; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 37-62.
6. Minnie Andrews & Dean R. West Marriage Record. Document No. 8795. Yakima County Auditor, Marriage Records, 1896-2008, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov.