Penny Lee Anderson, age 68, died on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at her home in Clearwater, Florida. She was born on October 29, 1949 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She spent most of her childhood in Racine, Wisconsin before moving to Virginia Beach to attend high school. Penny graduated from First Colonial High School in 1967 and was valedictorian of her class. She then went on to attend college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. At the young age of 23, she graduated with a PhD in Freshwater Biology. While attending college, she met her best friend and husband, Paul Anderson. They met while working at Ella’s Deli in Madison. Paul was a cook and Penny was a waitress. They got married on March 24, 1979 in the midst of a late snow storm in Racine, Wisconsin. Later that year, they moved to Florida to be with family and to open their health food store, Sunflower Natural Foods.
Penny and Paul loved school so much they both decided to enroll in the MBA program at the University of South Florida. After the wonderful experience they had in the program and the lifelong friends they made, they both graduated with their MBA degrees. Penny worked in a variety of careers which was fitting for her spunky personality. She was a chiropractic administrator for her father and brother-in-law’s chiropractic clinic in Clearwater, Florida. She then worked as an accountant at Kenyon Dodge, which ultimately became AutoNation. Most recently, she was a substitute teacher for Pinellas County Schools. This was a testament to her love for lifelong learning and education. Her biggest joy was helping her students with questions and giving them life advice.
Penny loved all of her family and friends. She was so easy to talk to and could talk for hours on end. Penny had such a big personality, so naturally she had many interests and hobbies. Her little piece of heaven was swimming in Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, Montana. She prided herself in being the first one to swim in the lake for the season. She would swim for hours and just take in the beautiful mountain scenery. The colder the water, the better. Penny just all around loved Montana. She loved the Western lifestyle and all of the connections she made there meant so much to her. Montana energized her in a very special way. Another love of hers was travelling. She was the ultimate travel planner. She would diligently research every detail, make endless lists and loved to take charge to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time. Oftentimes, the family would arrive in Europe after no sleep on the plane and immediately hop on a tour bus to start the vacation. There was no rest for the weary on a true Anderson vacation.
Penny was a member of Skycrest United Methodist Church in Clearwater. She loved her church family and the lifelong bonds that were built. Both Penny and Paul had a strong dedication to all the church had to offer; fellowship and the wonderful music ministry, which Paul was so passionate about. Penny will be best remembered by her big smile, perseverance, optimism and strength.
She is survived by her daughter Kari (Joe), mother Betty, sisters Aimee (Mick), Jill, brother Paul and many nephews and nieces.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 24th at 11am at John Chestnut Senior Park, 2200 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, Pavilion number 4.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to Skycrest United Methodist Church and the Glacier National Park Conservancy Foundation.
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