Nadya O. Andrews, a community volunteer and veteran urban planner who helped shape development of Rancho Murieta and served on the Sacramento Planning Commission, died Aug. 26 of cancer, her family said. She was 81.

Mrs. Andrews began her career as one of few women in the new field of urban planning in the 1950s. She started as a draftsman for the city of Richmond and moved to Sacramento in 1956 after marrying Elton R. Andrews, a Palo Alto planner who was appointed state planning director by Gov. Goodwin Knight.

She joined the Sacramento County Planning Department and rose to principal planner, the No. 2 position. She left in 1964 to stay at home with her young children and volunteered in the community. She held offices and served on boards of the YWCA, Save the American River Association, American Lung Association, Sacramento Tree Foundation and Mercy General Hospital.

In 1970, Mrs. Andrews became the second woman appointed to the Sacramento Planning Commission.

She served eight years and championed preservation of historical buildings as chairwoman in 1973. Forceful and direct, she emphasized the obligation of planning officials to improve quality of life in the community.

"We can't be a 'yes' man to builders and Realtors and approve every new idea they propose," she told The Bee in 1973. "Instead, we must take a closer, long-range look at the kind of community we want Sacramento to be."

Mrs. Andrews returned to work at the engineering firm Raymond Vail and Associates and was involved in laying out streets and designing tennis courts, a lodge and other amenities for Rancho Murieta. She also was director of planning at Allied-Langdon Engineering.

The only child of a pharmacist who owned several pharmacies, Nadya Olsen was born in 1930 and raised in Berkeley. She was one of two women who graduated from architecture school at UC Berkeley in 1952.

"She had to compete with lots of GIs coming back to school," said her son Bill.

Mrs. Andrews raised two sons with her husband, who died in 1986.

She enjoyed playing tennis and bridge and served on the board of Sutter Lawn Tennis Club. A passion for travel led her to many countries in Asia, Europe and Central America, often accompanied by her husband, mother or friends.

She balanced career, community and family obligations with meticulous planning and organization. She made out detailed Christmas card lists and affixed dates and names of family members and friends to boxes of greeting cards she kept on hand for birthdays and anniversaries.

"People were sending flowers for her to the house last week, and I was writing thank-you notes being dictated by Mom," her son said. "She wanted to be sure they went out on time."

Click here to view and leave condolences in a guest book for Nadya O. Andrews.

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