My dad John was a fun dad.  He took us to movies, to Lake Beulah for picnics, and taught us to ski.  The highlight most years was the trek to Minnesota.  He would wake us up sometime after midnight, load us in the back of our station wagon, and we'd be in Duluth by morning.  As we got older we would do the canoe trip in the boundary waters near the Canadian border.  Nothing says fun like being in the north woods on an island and not seeing another human being, or a flush toilet for a week.  I absolutely loved it!
I like to imagine him there now out on a still lake, at twilight, trolling with mom.  The loons calling and the hum of the Evinrude bringing them back home.

Grandpa passed in his sleep.  He was just shy of 98. 

When I'd speak to my mom over the last few years I was always relieved to hear that throughout his final years Grandpa retained his mind.  He was able to continue what I consider his true passion and gift in life, THINKING. 

Grandpa was a lot of things in his life.  Sailor, skier, fisherman, golfer, father, husband, grandfather.  But at his core he was a thinking man.  He was always analyzing.  He was dedicated to trying to find the right answer.  The right way to do things. 

There was a way things should be done.   To cut the grass you need the right equipment.  Not just a mower, but  a weed wacker, an edger, and a fertilizer spreader when necessary.  If you mow too fast there will be parallel lines of uncut grass where the wheels of the mower knocked down the grass and it didn't spring back before the mower passed by again.  Before you get your money you and grandpa evaluate the job that was done.  What was done well.  What could be improved next time.        

Grandpa had a standard at which things were done.  There WAS a right answer.  When you hit the plastic practice golf ball tethered to the roof you put the van in park, and you turn off the engine.  Slipper laces will come untied unless they are glued.  Little things.  Big things.  In everything effort and concentration is required to achieve the desired result.    

As his grandson getting paid 10 bucks to mow the lawn he cut me some slack.  He mellowed with age, I'm told.  For his employees, his daughters, and his sons-in-law, I get the sense less slack was cut.   

Grandpa would push mute during the commercial and you would hear his view on politics and bigger things:  It's the oil stupid.  There is no God.  Bush.  Of Finnish Descent. 

Grandpa would say he was going to take a 15 minute nap,  (and immediately he would start to snore).  

Grandpa was brave and he had integrity in what he said and what he believed.  He was not easily convinced.  He asked why.  And though it wasn't his best quality, he would listen.  He would learn.  He was given an answer and he did not accept it, and he did not believe it, even though believing would have been convenient for him as the end approached.  I don't know if Grandpa was right, none of us do, but we all can agree he had integrity. 

Grandpa had a truly remarkable desire to learn, stay healthy, and keep improving.  Even when he was old he pushed himself hard with the family history, the photo archiving, the letters to the editor.  You have to ask, why did he do it?  What continued to drive him so late in life?  The only explanation I can offer is that he loved life and the family it had given him, and to the very end he was fascinated both with life's history and with its remaining mysteries. 

Grandpa gave life his all and he was rewarded with almost 98 remarkably healthy and productive years.

When I think of my father, I remember many wonderful things about him from over the years.  He was an individual with many strong qualities, and perhaps a few faults as we are all guilty of. 

My dad was an incredibly honest man and this aspect of him was something I truly valued.  I never questioned his words or intentions, and as a child I probably took honesty in adults for granted because both of my parents were just naturally truthful people...I thought everyone was that honest.  And from growing up in their house, I feel my sisters and I have all learned to be honest and trustworthy individuals.  It is such a simple quality to have, but so important in life.

Of course, honesty has its drawbacks...sometimes the truth is difficult to hear!  But at least we all knew where we stood with him.

Dad seemed to love life and all of its adventures and challenges.  He also loved his family, and it was important for him to share his life with us.

Never once did I feel that he was disappointed living in a house full of girls when we were growing up.  He let us be girls, but still gave us opportunities to move beyond many of the stereotypes back then.  He took us camping and fishing in the wilderness, sailing in Lake Michigan, and skiing down steep slopes in Aspen.  I admit some of those slopes did scare me half to death!  And he also inspired his girls to have a strong work ethic by giving us plenty of opportunities to work around the house and at his business.  These were all solid life lessons that taught us not only to be strong and independent, but also to be well rounded and enjoy life to the fullest.

Dad took his job as a father seriously, and he did it very well.  I will miss him.

It is hard to find the right words to sum up John Anderson.  On one hand I am not sure I knew him personally that well, for he was a man of many facets and talents.  Only some of which I got to see first hand.  And yet I knew him very well through his daughters.  Their values and character speak volume about the man.  Their love and care for him shows the values that he taught them growing up.

From the last son-in-law's perspective, he was a take charge type of person, an entrepreneur, a leader, as well as "my-way-is-the-best-way" person.  He enjoyed the outdoors and tackling challenges.  He also loved his family and girls dearly.  These values helped him grow his business and guide his family.  It also kept him from giving up in his darkest health days.  

As important as his values were, his choice of a wife defined his legacy.  He was the yin to his wife Elma's yang in so many ways, and their girls are better for it.

He lived a full life as a young man, as a husband, as a father, as a widower and ended it on his own terms.

In so many ways, his was a life to be envied, a life to be followed, and a life from which we all can learn something.  All of which was the man John Anderson.

Parents give many gifts to their children.  As a child I believed that gifts were received at birthdays and Christmas.  Then I turned 18 and left home.  It finally dawned on me that I'd missed the point.  The gifts that I had unwrapped  in my first 18 years have long been forgotten.  The gifts that mattered are forever tethered to my adult life.

In the summers our family was often found on, in or next to a lake... picnics at Lake Beulah on Sundays, sailing on Lake Michigan or vacations in Minnesota (the land of 10,000 lakes for heaven's sake).  These were wonderful family times out in nature... playing in the water.  I finally understood the many years of cold early morning swim lessons at the public pool!  Thank you for that gift!

Even though my dad preferred the great outdoors, he did take our family of 6 and a friend to Montreal in a camper that slept 4.  The destination was the World's Fair in 1967. There were mobs of people and long, long, long lines to get into the exhibits.  My dad was miserable.  The only exhibit I remember going into was Israel.  Thanks for trying, Dad!  

The only lines my dad didn't mind standing in were ski lift lines.  As with everything he did, he wanted to be the best.  Which meant ski lessons for all of us kids too.  I hated ski lessons.  However, the family did spend many of our winter weekends skiing in Michigan... and splurged a couple times on trips to Aspen.   Summers in lakes, winters in snow... the gift of family time... the gift of nature.

I believe there were child labor laws back in the early 60's when I was 10 or 11 years old.  That didn't matter, I had to work sweeping floors at my dad's machine shop.  He paid me 50¢ an hour though.  It really added up until the day I found out I was opening a bank account and had to save half of everything I earned.   The next bit of bad news was that I also could pay for my lift tickets!  One of the best lessons of my life!

I have received many gifts from my parents.  They were a team, fiercely loyal to each other. My dad held my mom's hand for 64 years.  

Family adventures and valuing the natural world, hard work, doing things well and commitment to one's friends and family.  I will forever carry these gifts in my pocket.  Thank you, Dad.  I will miss you.

I have been very fortunate to have a father-in-law like John.  Yes, there was that initial fear, however....

*There was that time that his daughter Debbie, and I were dating....and stayed out rather late...not sure where we had been, but it was late at night.  When we drove up to Deb's house, there was John....sitting on the front door step.  Yikes!  I thought that might be it for me!  However, I never heard a word from him..... 

*John was a great teacher.  He was quick to point out the most efficient ways to do things...fold a tarp, saw a board....you name it....there was always a better way.

*Dad Anderson even gave my best friend and me a summer job working in his machine shop....at a decent wage, too!  I learned how to safely operate a drill press, lathe, and milling machine.  That knowledge allowed me to get a job after we moved to Yakima.  I had enough experience to get a great job working for Decoto Aircraft, machining hydraulic parts for Boeing planes.  

*Debbie and I went on a family skiing trip to Iron Mountain ski slopes in the upper peninsula in Michigan.  I had never skied before.  John was an excellent skier, so I received frequent, but timely instruction on how to ski.

*Not long after Debbie and I were married, we vacationed to the Boundary Waters area of  northern Minnesota with John, Elma, Mary, and Karen.  We canoed, portaged to an island, camped, fished, and I learned how to swim naked in perfectly crystal clear and drinkable water.

*John, Debbie, Karen, and I went sailing in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  I had never been sailing before.  Yikes!  As "green" a sailor as I was, John was very kind and patient.  That was an incredible experience that convinced me to buy my own sailboat....(a 14'-footer).

*John was also interested in alternative energy.  He designed and built a working solar collector to help heat the water in their home and I became very interested in alternative energy as a result of  his experimenting.

*Back during the '80s, when the earliest Apple computers became available, John was anxious to get his own and learn how to use the word processor to write his and Elma's family histories.  He was using his computer until earlier this year to write those frequent letters to the editor in our local newspaper and to email family members, friends, and relatives.

I have always had the greatest admiration for my father-in-law, John Anderson.  He was incredibly intelligent, an avid reader, and the kindest, most generous father-in-law I could ever have been so very fortunate to have!

I will always keep a place in my heart for my Grandpa.  What I will remember most about him was his kindness, compassion and generosity.  He really loved his family so much.

Some of the earliest memories I have of my Grandpa are the sleepovers that my cousins and my sister and I would have at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  The morning pancakes were the best part as Grandpa did his best to teach us kids how to make the perfect flapjack.  He had his work cut out for him.  Although my pancakes were usually burnt to a certain level of crispness, I know it made Grandpa smile to watch us do our best.  

I have very fond memories of camping and fishing trips with Grandpa.  As a lifelong outdoorsman from the Midwest, I think it was in his blood.   It always makes me laugh when I think about the camping trip at Lake Lenore and how Grandpa's canoe was tumbling down the beach in the middle of the night during that thunderstorm.

Every year on Christmas Eve we would do a grab-bag gift exchange between the family members.  It was always so fun to watch Grandpa during his turn because he got so much enjoyment out of stealing gifts from the family members.  He would get the Grandpa Anderson smirk every time.  

Of all the memories that I cherish, the most touching thing that I will remember was watching my two sons interact with Grandpa and seeing the joy in his face to be with his great-grandsons.  

I will truly miss you Grandpa.

In his own words, Grandpa is a true Time Traveler.

To travel to the future one must know the past, Grandpa wrote, in an email, age 95 and a half.

Grandpa first traveled to the past, where he composed our family history from his memory and the memories of many family members and friends, and from thousands of photographs.

Grandpa then traveled to the future by preserving these memories on the best paper available today. At any time, we can read one of his stories, and he'll be back in the present. For example, the most pivotal moment in Anderson family history happened just after John met Elma for the first time at Aunt Lil's wedding:

As we were out in the parking lot getting ready to leave with Clay tooting the horn wanting me to get in the car while I'm looking around trying to spot Elma. Finally I spotted her a couple of doors away, car doors away that is, and I yelled at her. "What's your telephone number, we want to get in touch with you." She yelled back her telephone number as she was getting in the car and I was frantically looking around for a pencil and paper to write it down. I couldn't find anything so I memorized the telephone number.  Clay and I were leaving; it must have been about twelve or one o'clock in the morning, we were heading for Grass Lake to spend Sunday duck hunting and shooting Mudhens.  All the way, while Clay is driving I'm memorizing that damn telephone number.  Finally I found a piece of paper and wrote it down and in the meantime for the whole day Clay and I argued about who's going to call her.  It was finally resolved by force of bodily harm to Clayton that I would call her first.  Clay realized that I was really smitten with Elma as I had never been so eager to call the other girls we met.  When we got home from hunting about nine o'clock or ten o'clock in the Sunday evening I called Elma right before I went to bed and made a date for the next Saturday night.

That story took place 75 years ago on October 12, 1940, but thanks to Grandpa's writing talent, we can reimagine it whenever we want.

Grandpa often traveled to the year 2100, anticipating many issues that would shape the world, including sustainable energy and fossil fuels. He was rarely shy in sharing his thoughts on the future with his family or fellow readers of the Yakima Herald. "We should all think of what kind of country and world do we want for ourselves and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren," he wrote, in one of his many letters to the editor, age 94 and three-quarters. 

Living to age 97 gave Grandpa plenty of time to think about time, which he spent building a prolific legacy of writings and shared memories. Through his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, everyone who remembers him, and anyone who reads his stories, emails, and letters, Grandpa will continue to be a true Time Traveler.

Growing up just a few miles away from my grandpa, he was a very big part of my childhood. I have many memories of backyard camping, pork chop dinners, and family birthday celebrations at his house.  My grandpa helped shape my childhood, and I'm so thankful that my daughters got the chance to experience his playfulness, sense of humor, and intelligence as well....because my grandpa was quite a guy.  Here is one of my favorite memories:


Every once in awhile, my grandpa would take me golfing with him. We would get hot chocolate at the clubhouse, practice putting, and drive around the grounds in the golf cart.  I'm sure there was some actual golfing involved, but as a 5 or 6 year old, the hot cocoa and golf cart were the obvious highlights of these outings.  On one of these trips to the golf course, my grandpa decided to let me steer the golf cart while sitting on his lap.  Well, I think I did okay at first, but it wasn't long before I noticed we were headed straight toward a dumpster.  I panicked.  My grandpa told me to turn the wheel, but I was frozen.  The golf cart inched closer and closer to the dumpster, and I ran right into it.  On the verge of tears, all I could think about was how much trouble I was in for damaging golf course property....not realizing at the time that my grandpa had complete control over the brakes.  Thankfully, he started laughing his big boisterous laugh, and I calmed down.  Maybe he was trying to teach me something with that little stunt, or maybe he just wanted to see what happens with a 5 year old behind the wheel.  All I know for sure is, that one incident gave me and my grandpa years of giggles, and it's one of my fondest memories. 



I love my grandpa very much.  I'm very thankful for so many years of memories with him.

It was my pleasure and an honor to serve as Mr. Anderson's audiologist.  I remember his smile, the sparkle in his eyes, and a positive attitude even on days that I suspected he wasn't feeling well.  His concerns were often for others' needs, and that they knew how much he appreciated efforts to assist him.

I remember going fishing with Uncle John.  He is the one that got me interested in photography.  I will miss him.
Wayne Anderson

Dad taught me so many things...I will be forever grateful.

Mr. Anderson gave me my first real job when I was fourteen.  I'll always be grateful for that.  As a neighbor, I remember him for his successive interests: gardening, skiing, and sailing.  I'm sure there were more; those are the ones I remember.
--Michael Woods

OBITUARY

John Raymond Anderson

November 5, 1917 – September 15, 2015

Keith & Keith Funeral Home

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