Erma Marie Anderson

Erma Marie McCullough was born in Colman, South Dakota to Elmer S. and Bertha McCullough (née Hippe) on September 9, 1924, nearly 101 years before her passing on August 15th 2025, in Raleigh, NC. She had spent the last year in Cary, NC and was cared for by son Kevin. Erma was a loving and compassionate wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law, aunt. She will be remembered by all who knew and loved her as a loyal friend and a true heart, who shared generously her gifts of voice, faith and courage.

Erma found solutions while others complained. Her seemingly boundless energy was an encouragement to all who collaborated with her as she took on projects large and small with grace and perseverance. She was a go-to person: for ideas, for inspiration, for hard work and as the only one in the office with a toolbox in her bottom desk drawer, an enabler of repair, fixing and fastening.

After graduating from high school in Colman, SD and seeing the end of WWII, she moved with a friend to Minneapolis, MN where she worked as a clerical worker for a department store chain. It was in Minneapolis she met her future husband, another South Dakota native, University of Minnesota law school student Clifton W. Anderson. Erma and Clif were married in Minneapolis at Lake Harriet Lutheran Church on March 19th,1949.

The 1950’s brought the post-war baby boom to America and Clif and Erma did their part, welcoming son Kim in early 1953, his brother Kevin late in 1954 and Eric in mid-1957. And just as the country was on the move after WWII, so were the Andersons, with moves following Clif’s work through the next decade from Minneapolis to Cedar Rapids IA, Fort Dodge, IA, Pekin IL, Indianapolis IN by the mid 60’s

Throughout these moves, Erma perfected packing the things that surrounded our family into boxes, supervised loading them and everything else that mattered to us onto a van line trailer and somehow days later, in another state, created a new home. And she made this Herculean task seem normal and natural. With one final move to Charlottesville, VA in 1977, Erma declared her moving days were over.

Erma was blessed with beautiful soprano singing voice with a natural warmth and timber that she shared as a member of trio “The Sweet Adelines” and in choirs at the Lutheran congregations which played a large role in family activity wherever they landed. St Olaf Lutheran in Fort Dodge, IA, Our Savior Lutheran in Pekin IL, Cross and Crown Lutheran in Indianapolis IN and Peace Lutheran, in Charlottesville, VA, where Erma and Clif were founding members. Her pure vocal strength, perfect pitch and control were known to, as they say, “make grown men cry”.

After her boys were well along in school, Erma rejoined the workforce in an Indianapolis doctor’s office, a choice that would eventually lead to her 14-year tenure and retirement from the University of Virginia Health Care System in Charlottesville, VA.

Erma was preceded in death by husband Clifton (2014) and her beloved son Kevin (2025), her parents Samuel and Bertha, two brothers Harold (Helen) and Benny McCullough and three sisters Margarette (Cedric) Maltpress, Ethel (Leo) Foss, and Jean (Henry “Hank”) Vollenweider. She is survived by sons Kim (Mary Jo), Eric, and granddaughter Lauren, beloved sisters-in-law and many nieces and nephews. No memorial service will be held at this time. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to Peace Lutheran Church, Charlottesville, VA www.plchurch.org.

Memorial tributes and messages of sympathy can be left by clicking the “Add a Memory” box below. Brown Wynne of Cary is honored to serve the Anderson family.