He was born on January 19, 1929 in the family farmhouse in Rustburg to the late Henry Augustus Anstey and Sallie McDaniel Anstey. He was preceded in death by six siblings: Audrey, Barton, Catherine, Richard, Virginia and William.
Fred is survived by his wife of 62 years Mary Adel Anstey. They met at a Radford/Virginia Tech church picnic in the early 1950s. They have three children, Mark A. Anstey and wife Tracy Annette Perkins Anstey and their daughter Emily, of Rustburg, Amy Anstey Costello and husband Michael Costello and their daughter Cara of Lancaster, PA, and John C. Anstey and wife Dr. Kara Lee Matala and their daughters, Anna and Charlotte of Roanoke.
After graduating from Rustburg High School, where he was selected as a Boys’ State representative, Fred served in the U.S. Navy from 1948-50 aboard the U.S.S. Colleton in Boston, where he played baseball (pitcher) for the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. He was honorably discharged.
He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1955 and paid back his student loans by serving as a vocational education teacher at Franklin High School in Franklin, Va., and locally at New London Academy.
In 1959, he joined the Virginia Department of Transportation as a right-of-way agent. He stayed at VDOT until 1991 and retired as the District Right-of-Way Manager, in which he was in charge of purchasing land for a 10-county area of the state for road expansions. He held various real estate and appraisal certifications during his 32-year career.
A man who enjoyed work, Fred opened and ran a farm equipment business for 20 years in Campbell County after his retirement from VDOT. In addition, he tended his beloved registered Herford cattle at the farm where he was born. The farm, which he renamed Dellwood Farm, in honor of his wife, achieved Century Farm status from the Virginia Department of Agriculture – recognizing 100 years of family farming.
Fred was involved in his community. He was a 60-year member of the Rustburg Lions Club, where he once served as President and assisted with numerous fundraising events for the charity organization, including a fundraising annual rodeo. He served as the Fire Commissioner of Campbell County and on E-911 Street Naming Committee. Fred and his family are members of Holy Cross Catholic Church.
The family would like to thank the staff at Brandon Oaks Life Care Community and Good Samaritan Hospice for the tireless and dignified care that they provided to Fred, especially during the final weeks of his life.
The family will receive friends on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019 from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at Whitten Timberlake Chapel. A graveside service will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery at 1:00 on Friday, October 11, 2019
