Tom Anderson

Gifted with a high intellect and a curious nature, Tom was a lifelong learner, interested in people, ideas, matters of faith, and the world around him. He was a man of character, integrity, kindness, and humility. A grateful and grace-filled optimist who believed in second chances, he saw and encouraged the best in everyone. He was a mentor, model, teacher, and friend to many. He was devoted to his family and his church.

Tom was born in Grandfield, Oklahoma, on June 25, 1925, to Thomas Samuel and Velma Irdene Briscoe Anderson. He graduated from Grandfield High School in 1942 and remained lifelong friends with many of his classmates, returning for school reunions until well into his 80s.

Tom studied engineering for one year at Cameron College in Lawton, Oklahoma, before enlisting in the US Army in 1943 to serve during World War II. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Corporal in 1946. He then enrolled at Oklahoma State University (at that time Oklahoma A&M) in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he graduated with a degree in accounting in 1948, remaining another year to take additional courses. He was a loyal OSU Cowboys fan until the day he died (Go Pokes!).

In 1949 he moved to Dallas for a job as a field auditor with the Oil Well Supply Division of US Steel. He spent 10 years traveling the country by car, and often reminisced about the interesting people he met and amazing sites he visited along the way. He left US Steel in 1959 for Texas Instruments, where he worked in accounting until 1969, when he accepted a position in the administration at Southern Methodist University. He held several positions at SMU until he retired as Director of Business Services in 1990. While still at SMU, Tom and his wife, Peggy, founded Kaufman Medical Aids, providing durable medical goods, medical uniforms, and other medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and individuals in the surrounding area until they sold the business in 1993.

Tom met his wife of 62 years, Peggy Speed Anderson, at First Baptist Church in Dallas in 1958 and married in 1959. They had two children, Martha and Stuart. In 1964, Tom and Peggy built a home on eight acres in the Oak Grove community outside Kaufman, Texas, where they lived for over 40 years. In 2004, they built a home in Canton, Texas, where they lived out their later retirement years.

In addition to work and raising a family, Tom was a long-term Gideon and Toastmaster, and faithfully and quietly served others both informally in day-to-day interaction and more formally through his involvement at First Baptist Church in Kaufman and Little Hope Baptist Church in Canton. He was a devoted fan of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, following their career from start to finish, attending numerous concerts over fifty years and owning a copy of all their recordings.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy, and his brother, Clarence Anderson, and is survived by his two children, Martha Anderson and Stuart Anderson, grandchildren Kristin, Timothy, and James Loudenback, four great-grandchildren, a nephew, Roger Bryant, nieces Linda Yancy, Rita Anderson, Carolyn Perkins, and Dana Colvin as well as numerous other great-nieces and nephews and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Little Hope Baptist Church Family Life Center (https://lhbcanton.org), or the Gideons International (https://gideons.org).

A Visitation for Tom will be held Friday, July 7, 2023 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Eubank Cedar Creek, 601 South 3rd Street, Mabank, Texas. A Funeral Service will occur Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 1:00 PM at Little Hope Baptist Church, 3257 VZ County Road 4106, Canton, Texas.

Tom will be laid to rest in Wilson Chapel Cemetery, off FM 2860 near Oak Grove, Kaufman, Texas.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.eubankcedarcreek.com for the Anderson family.