On March 3, 2011, Bill Anderson rolled up his bedroll and packed up his tent for the last time. E. William Anderson was born July 26, 1914, in Leith, North Dakota. His family left Leith in 1924 for Nampa, Idaho. Bill received his B.S. in Range Management and Forestry from the University of Idaho in 1937 and his M.S. in Range Management and Animal Husbandry from Oregon State College in 1940, the 2nd MS ever awarded in Rangeland Resources. On Christmas Day, 1939, Bill married Lois Oliver in Pendleton, Oregon. Throughout their 66 years of married life, they lived most of the time in Oregon - Richland, New Bridge, Pendleton, and Lake Oswego.
During WWII, Bill served in the South Pacific at the rank of Navy Lieutenant, Junior Grade, in Air Combat Intelligence. In 1946, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander USNR. Upon his return to Oregon and to the Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bill rose to become the State Range Conservationist and was the original author of the State of Oregon’s Range Site Guides. Bill was a Charter Member of the Society for Range Management; President of both the Pacific Northwest Section and the International Society for Range Management; and the winner of the Section’s and the Parent Society’s highest achievement awards, the Trail Boss and the Renner Awards, respectively. Among his many publications is the book Ecological Provinces of Oregon: A Treatise on the Basic Ecological Geography of the State. During his career with the SCS, Bill taught seminars at OSU to seniors in Coordinated Resource Management Planning. After retiring from the SCS, Bill worked as an Independent Consultant of Renewable Resources.
Being outdoors was an important part of Bill’s life until the end. Hunting, fishing, camping, and working with friends and family were most important to him. He always had a garden. Bill was good at projects around the house from finishing a basement to creating things in the “Rube Goldberg” way. During the 1950’s when the family lived in Pendleton, Bill’s nightly routine with his daughters was to tell Naughty Little Elf stories or sing songs while playing his guitar. When the grandchildren came along, he loved to make blanket forts in the living room and roast marshmallows in the fireplace when they came to visit. Lois and Bill loved to travel! During his career, they traveled within the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand attending meetings and conventions, where Bill was often a presenter of his papers. After retirement, they traveled far and wide. Bill always felt that international travel was the best education a person could get, and he encouraged his daughters and grandchildren to do the same.
Bill was preceded in death by Lois in 2005, his parents, his sister, and 3 brothers. Missing him a lot are his daughters and their families: Christine and Dwight Ferris of Salem, grandchildren Jennifer and Lane, and Elizabeth and Alan Vandehey of Portland, grandchildren Emily and Lucy.
“Happy Trails, Bill”
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Saturday, March 19, 2011, at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church. Feel free to wear your Western boots in Bill’s honor.
In lieu of flowers, Memorial Gifts may be sent to any of the following:
E. William and Lois Anderson Memorial Fund
c/o John Buckhouse,
Dept. of Rangeland Ecology and Management
200 Strand Agricultural Hall
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
Lake Grove Presbyterian Church
4040 Sunset Dr.
Lake Oswego, OR 97035-4318
Umatilla County Historical Society
PO Box 253
Pendleton, OR 97801
Arrangements under the direction of Young's Funeral Home, Tigard, OR.
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