Dayton T Andrews was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, but lived most of his youth in Florida. He was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Navy as an aerial gunner. At the conclusion of his military career, he attended Stetson University in Deland Florida, graduating with a B.A. Degree. While at Stetson he met his wife Betty Jo, a native of Florida. They were married in 1950 and had two sons, C. Taylor Andrews and Alfred Andrews, who is the President of Dayton Andrews Inc.
In May 1964 Dayton and his family moved to Clearwater to open Massey-Andrews Plymouth. In 1969 the Chrysler Imperial line was acquired and the Company became Massey-Andrews Inc. In 1974 Dayton Andrews purchased the Massey interest in the business and our current name, Dayton Andrews Inc., was born. Throughout his career, Dayton was active within the automotive industry and his community. He served on the Board of Overseers of Stetson Law School and was a frequent guest lecturer at St. Petersburg College. In 1991, having been nominated by his fellow dealers in Clearwater, Dayton received the highly acclaimed, prestigious TIME Magazine Quality Dealer Award. In 2006, he was named DaimlerChrysler’s Southeast Business Center Dealer of The Year.
We at Dayton Andrews, Inc. are both proud and inspired by Dayton’s ability, leadership, and warmth of personality, and many of our customers enjoyed friendly conversations with Dayton “UNDER THE OAK TREE” Andrews.
