Mary E. Kraus Anderson

Funeral services will be held at 3:00pm on Sunday, September 15, 2013, from the chapel at Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home with Reverend Dr. Billy Gaither officiating. Burial will take place at a later time at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Sunday beginning at 2:00pm until time of funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to a favorite charity of your choice.

Mrs. Anderson was born in Brooklyn, NY, to the late Edward T. and Catherine M. Kraus on June 22, 1928. After graduation from Wood Secretarial School, Mary was hired by Colonial Airlines. Later she worked at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), where she met the love of her life, John H. Anderson. She married John, then a Second Lieutenant, at Fort Hamilton, NY, in 1952. As a faithful Army wife, she accompanied her husband on all his assignments to include Fort Lewis, WA; Gary Air Force Base, TX; Camp Rucker, AL; Mainz, Germany; Fort Bliss, TX; Fort Rucker, AL; Fort Sill, OK; Omaha, NE; Fort Leavenworth, KS; and finally settling in Ozark, AL.

Mary enjoyed interior decorating and gourmet cooking. No matter where they were living, if it were for six weeks or three years, she made a warm, loving, and finely decorated home for her husband and children. Mary was active in the Officers’ Wives Club at each installation where they were stationed and served as Vice President and Membership Chairman of the Retired Officer’s Wives Auxiliary, Fort Rucker, AL for many years.

Mary was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother and she is survived by her husband of 61 years, LTC (ret) John H. Anderson; one daughter, Ginny Anderson, Montgomery, AL; two sons and daughters-in-law, John and Lynn Anderson, Raleigh, NC; Scott and Tommye Anderson, Atlanta, GA; two granddaughters, Leslie Anderson and Jenna Anderson; three step-grandsons, Jeffery Craddock, Elijah Craddock, and SPC Shane Craddock; one niece, Liz (Ed) Hawks and one grandniece, Alexys.

The family extends special thanks to Dr. Oliver W. Crawford, Jr.; the second floor nurses at Dale Medical Center; the staff of Dale County Home Health, especially Kathy Skoda; Community Hospice of DMC, particularly Kathy Johnson; the staff of FirstLight HomeCare, and the staff of Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home.

Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark (334) 774-4551 is in charge of the arrangements. Members of the Dignity Memorial network. Condolences may be offered at www.fuquabankston.com.