Richard Anderson
Richard Mason Anderson
Richard M. Anderson (Dick) was born September 14, 1945, in Muscatine, IA, to Dan and Leona (Marple) Anderson. The family moved to Aledo, IL, and Dick graduated from Aledo High School in 1964. He enlisted in the Navy and was deployed to Vietnam in 1966 where he served as a Navy Seabee with the Naval Construction Battalion. After an honorable discharge from active duty, Dick began his career in telecommunications as a lineman with Western Illinois Telephone. He worked for Contel, GTE, AT&T and retired from Frontier as a Network Operations Engineer. Dick married Elsa Smith in 1967 and lived in Aledo until they and their kids, Angie and Dack, moved to Minnesota in 1976. He liked to fish and would take every opportunity to launch his boat on a lake, fish the river, or drop a line through a hole in the ice. He enjoyed camping at MN State Parks where he and the family would geocache and explore the trails. Dick was an avid sports fan and followed the MN Twins, Vikings and Wild. Dick and Elsa traveled the world and taught their family there’s more to life than just your own backyard. Dick passed away on August 26, 2020, after a courageous battle with non-small cell lung cancer. He is missed by his wife Elsa; kids Angie Rafferty (Adam Hays) and Dack Anderson (Sarah); grandkids Alexa Schiller (Austin), Annelia Anderson, Hannah Anderson, and Abby Rafferty; siblings Linda Sage (Dick), Jerry Anderson (Marta Hanson), Bill Anderson (Laura) and Tim Anderson (Theresa); several nieces and nephews; and lifelong friends. Dick donated his body to the University of Minnesota Medical School with the goal of advancing medical care through research.