Press Release

Today, NBWA President and CEO Craig Purser issued the following statement:

“Barry Andrews was a true lion of the beer industry with the spirit of a lamb. While he was very successful in building Andrews Distributing — from a single supplier Miller franchise in 1976 in Corpus Christi to an industry powerhouse in Dallas-Fort Worth today — he lived the phrase that he coined, “People make it happen.”

Many of the nearly 2,000 current Andrews team members can recall that even as the company grew, Barry would still walk around the operation at least three times daily. During these walks, he never failed to remember team members’ names, ask and recall stories about their families, and always showed genuine commitment and care. Whenever he and I were together or connected by phone, he always asked about how the people at NBWA and my family were doing.

Barry proudly served as a board member and president of the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas. Barry was also inducted as a Molson Coors Legend in 2006 for his extraordinary contributions to their network. Barry was honored as an inductee of the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2011 and was awarded South Texan of the Year in 2002.

In 2021 Barry was recognized by NBWA with the Life Service Award. I was fortunate to present the award to him in person at Andrews headquarters and it was a true honor.  Here is a video that was put together as he was recognized with that honor: Barry Andrews Life Service Award.

During his 56-year marriage to his wife Lana, he became the proud father of Natalie Andrews McGuire and Blake Andrews. Barry was the beloved “Bare Bare” to his grandchildren Madison, Sophie, Curran and Bain. Barry was preceded in death by his parents, Homer and Jewell Andrews, and is survived by his brother, Trey and his sister, Judy.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Barry may be made in support of Baylor Scott & White Hospital or the M.D. Anderson Foundation.”