Douglas E. Anderson

The Honorable Douglas E. Anderson, Ret., 67, of Colorado Springs, passed away suddenly, April 12, 2015. He was born February 1, 1948 in Hammond, Indiana, to Lucille and Evar Anderson. He graduated from Gavit High School (Hammond, IN), earned B.A. in English from Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) and a J.D. from Loyola School of Law (Chicago, IL). He married Diana Kay Brown December 21, 1968.

At Augustana, Doug played football, was a member of OZO fraternity, and his poetry was published in the Augustana literary magazine. After graduation, he was an English teacher at Spohn Middle School in Hammond, IN. In the evenings, he commuted to Loyola for law school. After graduating from law school, he served as Assistant District Attorney for Pueblo, CO and District Attorney for Salida, CO. Doug served as an Administrative Law Judge for the State of Colorado, and was in private practice in Colorado Springs. Doug became an El Paso County Court Judge in 1983, and was appointed to the District Court bench in 1985 where he served as the Chief Domestic Relations Judge for many years. After retiring in 2002, Doug was the Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution and then formed the Southern Colorado Mediation Judges, providing mediation and arbitration services to our community.

Doug was instrumental in the founding the Pikes Peak Pro Bono Project and started the Legal Aid Clinic at the Marian House. He is the founder of the Divorce with Dignity program, as well as the Supervised Exchange and Parenting Time program at CASA, and initiated the installation of the security system at the El Paso County Courthouse.

Doug was an active member of the Colorado and El Paso County Bar Associations, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Pheasants Forever, Sierra Club, Ducks Unlimited, The Izaak Walton League, and the Wednesday Night Tennis Club. Doug loved his family, friends, and his dogs. He was an outdoor enthusiast, who loved hunting, fishing, boating, tennis and golfing. He loved poetry and loved to travel.

Doug is survived by his sweetheart Diana; children James (wife Holly), Joshua, and Claire; two grandchildren, Tiffany and Devon, and brother Craig (fiancé Carmen). He was preceded in death by his parents. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Marian House, the music program at Grace & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, or Pheasants Forever.

A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, April 17, 2015 at 5:30 pm at Grace & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church,

601 N. Tejon St.