Arden A. Anderson

Arden (Andy) Anderson peacefully slipped away to be with his heavenly Father after a courageous battle with Leukemia on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013. He was born in Denver, CO on January 1st,1929 to Goldie and Hazel (Dotson) Anderson and grew up in Cheyenne Wells, CO. He had a life long love for horses. He received a foal from his uncle at an early age, and spent many hours riding and training his horse to do tricks. Many hours were spent riding the dry Colorado countryside looking for arrowheads, which he kept in a collection. Andy graduated from Cheyenne Wells High School in 1946 and then attended college in Ft. Collins, CO. He would later complete his degree at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. In 1951 he enlisted in the Air Force, and entered the cadet program to pursue his dream of becoming a fighter pilot. He graduated from the cadet program with the class of 52G as a 2nd Lieutenant. In later years, his pilot training class met many times for reunions, and he enjoyed reminiscing their early days together. Andy's military career included the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and sitting alert in Europe during the Cold War. He spent a short tour with the Navy, where he was able to fly off carriers--a feat he really enjoyed. He made many friends while on a tour with NATO (Italy) where he worked with officers from Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Great Britain. A special memory of his career was a flight from St. Louis, MO to Lewistown, MT in 1954 commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, demonstrating how travel had changed during those 150 years. What originally took Lewis and Clark almost 15 months, Arden accomplished in 3 hours. Andy was a member of the Super Sabre Society, those pilots who flew the F-100 aircraft, affectionately known as the "Hun" to those who flew it. He was also a member of the Caterpillar Club, a group which consisted of pilots who successfully ejected from a disabled airplane. He enjoyed telling the story of his successful descent (via parachute) into the French countryside. On Oct 5, 1957, Arden married Phyllis Severson at St. Paul's on the Hill Lutheran Church in Preston, MN. They were blessed with 55 wonderful years together and three daughters. In 1975, Arden retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel, and spent several years working in Financial Planning, mostly with military families, before taking on full retirement. He was an active Rotarian, enjoying golf, playing cribbage, watching tennis, and spending time with his family. He and Phyllis loved to travel and visited all 7 continents at least once. Arden is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, and devoted family; daughters Pamela (Kirk) Nickman, Bloomington, MN, Kimsey (Mark Franz), Albuquerque, NM, and Heather, Ontario WI. He is also survived by grandchildren Austin and Janel Nickman, and many nieces and nephews. Preceding Arden in death were his parents, sister Carlene, and brother Gerald. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, June 29th at Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service and a luncheon will follow. The Inurnment will be held at Ft. Snelling National Veterans Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN on Monday, July 1st at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Mayo Clinic, designated for Parkinson's or Leukemia Research. He was loved unconditionally by his family, was a loving and devoted husband, and a wonderful and tenderhearted Father. He will be greatly missed and always in our hearts and thoughts. We let him go with the lines from the poem "High Flight" by John Magee I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, where never lark or even eagle flew And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)