Doug Anderson

February 2nd, 1950 to Ron and Elaine Anderson. As many people know, he was one of the

kindest, sweetest men you’d have the good fortune of meeting. He was an amazing husband,

father, family member as well as an active, caring community member who will be missed by

many.

As a young boy he enjoyed running around Fort Frances with his friends; the stories he told and

the nicknames he’d mention sounded like it could’ve been an alternate plot to The Little

Rascals. He also loved baseball, the New York Yankees and in particular Mickey Mantle. His

sister Cheryl (“Lou!”) would tease him when they lost and usually that ended with Cheryl crying

and Doug in trouble. A family friend once brought Doug and his brother Blair to a Yankee game

in Minneapolis. They happened upon the Yankees bus and Doug had his glove signed by the

entire 1961 team. It was his prized possession and he went on to play with it until all of the

signatures could no longer be seen, but he would tell us “he never dropped a ball with it”.

When the Anderson family moved from town to a farm property on Rainy River west of Fort

Frances, which they named “Riverbend Acres Farms”, Doug and Blair bought cattle. Doug was

a member of 4H and loved showing beef cattle. He attended the Graham School of Cattlemen in

Kansas, which was an experience he reminisced on gleefully and often. Doug had a horse

named Stormy, who could be difficult but he trained and when cooperating could “run like the

wind”. He spoke a lot of the early mornings, hard work without complaints and many

adventures that he and his family had on that property.

Most people know Doug as the gentle, smiling man in Betty’s. He grew up in the store. He would

sit on the counter as a young boy (beginning at the age of 3) in Betty’s Hat Shop and when he

was a good helper he’d get a pop and donut. Later he would continue the tradition with his sons

Will and Justin. He started in the store with his grandmother Betty as well as his loving parents

Ron and Elaine at the helm. In the late 1980s, he and his brother/business partner Blair took

over the store. He and Blair got to a point where they could practically read one another's

minds, except when paging each other, which consisted of one of them shouting at the other

from the opposite side of the store.

In the store, you’d most often find Doug helping customers but also recounting stories from his

past, his family or stories he was told by the “old timers”. Two of his gifts were listening and

storytelling. These traits he inherited from his father Ron as well as his grandmother Betty. He

has been missed by employees and customers alike since he stopped working at the store and

he’ll be spoken about there until it’s no longer.

Doug met his loving wife Ann in February of 1991 and they were married later that year on

October 12. Doug and Ann attended her brother Paddy’s wedding together shortly after they

started dating. He was nervous to meet everyone but soon after the trip was over Ann would

say, “I think my family likes you more than me”. If you had the opportunity to meet him, whether

it be in your personal life or even in Betty’s, you know that he had a special way with people.

Their lives together that followed were filled with joy and happiness in raising their family.

They had two sons, Justin in 1992 and Will in 1995. As a parent, he was as warm, loving and

selfless as a person could be. He was patient when the boys would sleep on the bathroom floor

instead of getting ready for school, when they forgot jerseys or shoes for every second

basketball game, or when he would play goalie in the backyard rink in -40 without pads even as

their shots were no longer so soft. He taught his sons so much, would listen to them intently and

always encouraged them to do what they love.

His sons would always remind Ann that the sun rose and set on anything Annie, according to

Doug. He always treated her like a queen and taught her many lessons which include

tolerance, patience and to reach for your dreams. Doug was so supportive of Ann's work as a

Speech Language Pathologist, that he was given an honourary membership to the local group of

SLPs because they thought he learned more at conferences than they did. His love of learning

and adventure were boundless.

Doug was a community leader. He was instrumental in many of the downtown projects and was

passionate for building up Scott St and the town of Fort Frances. He was also a founding

member of the Rainy River Valley Safety Coalition and one of his proudest achievements was

bringing the World Health Organization safety conference to Fort Frances in 2002. Another way

that he led was through inspiring others to take action in the community for what they believed in.

Doug is survived by his wife Annie, son Justin, brother Blair, sister Cheryl, niece Faith Moen

(Peter), great niece and nephews, cousins and numerous brother and sister-in-laws and their

families. He is now reunited with his dear son Will, his parents Ron and Elaine as well as other

family and friends who have already passed on.

He will be greatly missed by family and friends because he was a wonderful human being in

every way. His special touch was far reaching and will be remembered fondly for years to come.

A small private celebration of life was held on June 19, 2021. Due to COVID restrictions the

service will be by invitation only.

Donations can be made in Doug’s memory to Alzheimer’s Society, Kenora/Rainy River Districts.