History of the Robert E Andrews Law Library
Bob Andrews, as he was known, attended Bibb County public schools before moving to Moultrie, GA in 1939. Upon graduation from Moultrie High School in 1942, he volunteered for the United States Army Air Force and served with the 8th Air Force where he flew 34 combat missions over Europe including the D-Day invasion in 1944. For his service with the Air Force he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal on four occasions, the Good Conduct Medal, the European-Africa-Middle Eastern Theatre Medal, the American Theatre of Operations Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and the Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in September 1945.
Bob Andrews graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law in 1949 with an LL.B. Law Degree, and received the degree of Juris Doctor from Mercer University in Macon, GA, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduation, Mr. Andrews was appointed to the staff of the Attorney General of Georgia where he became a trial attorney. In 1950, he moved to Gainesville, GA and established and enjoyed a high profile law practice for 50 years. In 1951 he married Katherine Perryman of Talbotton, GA, and they remained deeply in love until his death. He was very ably assisted in his law practice by his loyal legal assistant, Mrs. Joyce Tate, and practiced law in the Supreme Court of GA, the GA Court of Appeals, all federal courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1970, Bob Andrews sponsored legislation to fund a law library in Hall County. He was greatly honored when the Hall County Law Library was re-named and dedicated as the Robert E. Andrews Law Library on April 28, 2004.
Known as Georgia's greatest legal mind, Mr. Andrews' trial and appellate work is known and studied nationwide. Bob Andrews was very active in civic and governmental affairs. In addition to his trial attorney duties, he served two terms for Hall County in the Georgia House of Representatives, and two terms as State Senator for Hall, Lumpkin, Dawson and Forsyth Counties in the Georgia Senate. His hobbies were history, poetry, music and antique automobiles. He was a past President of the Gainesville Bar Association, Kiwanis, Geneva's Coffee Club, Gainesville First United Methodist Church where he taught the Scrap Pile Class for many years, the Open Door Sunday School Class where he often ended the lesson with the following, "Look to this day, for today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of Happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope."
History of the Robert B Thompson Law Library
Robert B. (Bob) Thompson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 20, 1922. He was considered a distinguished Marine Corps Veteran, having served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. As a soldier, Mr. Thompson bravely fought against the enemy in the Battle of Tarawa, New Caledonia, Saipan, and Espirato Santos.
In his years after the war, Bob studied at the University of Georgia and in 1951 received a Bachelor’s Degree with the notable honor of Summa Cum Laude. He later received his Law Degree from the Atlanta Law School and shortly thereafter began his noteworthy and impressive career in the field of justice.
Thompson was appointed to and served as a law clerk for Judge Robert L. Russell of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1952. For the next two years, he would lay the foundation for his days spent in law. In 1955, Bob began his time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, further building his reputation as a skilled trial attorney. Then in 1968, Mr. Thompson embarked on what would be a 20 year journey as an attorney in Lumpkin and Dawson Counties. Robert spent that time serving Lumpkin County, the City of Dahlonega, Dawson County, and the Dawson County Board of Education.
Robert B. Thompson was widely known for his dedication and for working long hours. Even through difficult times in his own life, Bob made a way to keep himself committed to the cause of seeking justice. Friends and associates of Thompson say that, “he was the kind of lawyer judges appreciate,” and that he was a “fine criminal attorney possessing excellent skills in legal research, analysis, and writing.” He practiced law in an exemplary manner and through the Dawson County Law Library, his love for justice is acknowledged and forever memorialized.