Richard Joseph Anderson

Richard “Dick” Joseph Anderson died at his home in Bowie, MD, at the end of June 2021.  Dick was born in St. Paul, MN, on May 19, 1943, to Kathryn Rose (Hundt) and Richard Henning Anderson.  The family moved to Two Harbors, MN, while he was young, and Dick completed his primary and secondary education there, graduating from Two Harbors High School in 1961.  He went on to earn a B.S. in History and Political Science from the University of MN Duluth (UMD) while also completing officer training with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1961-1967. He decided to further his education at UMD, earning a M.A. in American History in 1972.

As his first job, Dick was a history teacher at Hibbing High School in Hibbing, MN, where he also coached football and track (1966-1973).  In 1973, he took a job with the Minnesota School Boards Association in St. Peter, MN, where he continued his lengthy career as an advocate for education, working for 29 years and rising to the position of Executive Director.  For the last six years of his career, he leveraged his experience at the national level, serving as an Associate Executive Director at the National School Boards Association in Alexandria, VA.

Dick raised, and is survived by, his three children:  with first wife Marcia (Davidson) Wennen, Richard Michael Anderson (Sheila); and with second wife Mary (Ongaro) Galloway, Rebecca Marie Holmstrom (Eric) and Christina Louise Anderson Mooney (Brian).  He is also survived by his six grandchildren:  Emily and Katie Anderson, Anya and Andrew Holmstrom, and Dylan and Liana Mooney.

He was preceded in death by his parents and third wife, Susan Francis.

Dick was an avid hunter and fisherman and a Marine through and through.  He enjoyed storytelling and music, and despite the odds, he remained a MN sports fan throughout his life. He never considered anyone a stranger, just a friend he hadn’t met yet.

A celebration of his life will be held in northern MN this spring when the rivers are flowing full. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making donations in Dick’s honor to one of the following:

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation

https://www.marineheritage.org/

Veterans with Disabilities

https://www.dav.org/

The Minnesota Land Trust

https://mnland.org/

While sorting through things at dad’s house this summer, we came across a reflective essay that he had written about his life at age 30. We decided to include it here so dad could tell you about his early life in his own words. We’d like to think he would have written something similar at age 78, filled with 48 more years of rich life experiences, both challenging and joyful, and the numerous learnings he had along the way. His was a life well-lived.

In Dick’s words…

“Thirty years ago, at St. Paul’s Bethesda Hospital, I made my entry into the world. I was lucky from the start, because my parents Richard and Kathryn were liberal in attitude, hard-working by environment, and loving by nature. My early years were spent growing up in a cold water tenement building next to the old short line on West 7^th Street. Rats, bats, the smell of rotting garbage, and the noise of traffic and trains were my companions.

In 1950, an employment change by my father resulted in a move to Two Harbors along the cool shores of Lake Superior. Here I experienced quiet, small town morality, and the advantages and beauty of nature. I graduated Two Harbors High School in 1961 after an undistinguished athletic career. I might also mention I did not graduate as Valedictorian either.

In the fall of 1961, I made a decision which has profoundly influenced my life. My parents wanted me to go to college and I wanted to join the Marines. We compromised, and I joined the Marine Corps Reserve while also attending college. It was through these experiences that I laid a foundation for emotional, physical, and intellectual maturity.

In 1965, I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with honors (cum laude), a B.S. degree in history and a minor in political science. I was also a member of two scholastic fraternities, Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Gamma Mu. I then continued my studies for a M.A. degree, but money needs facilitated a move to Hibbing MN in 1966, where I began teaching and coaching.

I have had a very successful and rewarding seven years of teaching in Hibbing. I have written and developed curriculum for the school system, and I have taught special students, both gifted and slow in their learning. Coaching football and track have been very exciting and perhaps the most enjoyable of

my educational experiences. In the seven years I have spent in Hibbing, I have had numerous occasions, before and after class, on the football field, and at the Hibbing Youth Center, to counsel young people and to empathize with their frustrations, problems, and failures.

My life does not carry with it meritorious explicatives like star, hero, or scholar. It instead reflects the blue collar ethics which I inherited from my parents and grandparents. An education, hard work, honesty, and weekly attendance at Mass comprise that code. While I cannot prescribe this formula for everyone, I do recognize its influence upon me and the roots it has created.

I have been fortunate to experience much love in my life. The security and understanding love from my parents was a beautiful experience. I have known the helping love of friends and the passionate love of women. My adopted son, profession, and religion have allowed me to practice the most important facet of love…giving.

I have suffered and known pain in my life. Insignificant, of course, by most comparisons, yet enough to know its meaning. Early bouts with asthma, the stigma of being an only child, a broken marriage, religious conflict, and the rejection of pseudo friends have made me sympathetic to those who suffer for any reason.

I have lived in a cold water tenement with bats and rats, and I have enjoyed the comforts and solitude of rural living. I have experienced small town morality as well as the impersonality of the city life. I have seen what man can create and I have appreciated the beauty of the natural world.

Well, that is me…if you read carefully. I have lived the extremes of despair and happiness. I have progressed from ignorant immaturity to confident maturity. I have made mistakes, but I have learned with each experience. I accept each person as a human being. I condemn no man. I accept life’s trials and failures, for I know that they are teachers for the future. I believe that any disruption, no matter how serious it may seem at the time, is only temporary if you believe it to be so. It may sound corny, but each night I thank God for the opportunity to have lived one more day.”

Semper Fidelis