Wendell O Anderson

Mr. Wendell Anderson 96, of Spencer passed away on December 9th at St. Luke's Nursing Home in Spencer. 

Wendell was born on November 8th, 1928 on the Anderson family farm, north of Gillett Grove to Celia Mae (Davis) and Elmer Herman Anderson. It was on the family farm where he and his two brothers and three sisters played many innings of baseball after chores were done. He attended country school and graduated as a Gillett Grove Hilltopper where he excelled in basketball, baseball and academically. After graduation he was scouted for semi-pro baseball which he declined. 

Wendell then enlisted in the Army and spent several years in Korea as a road engineer, building roads into where the fighting was happening. When asked how close he was to the fighting he always replied "not close." But it wasn't until the Daily Reporter interviewed him a few years ago at the age of 88 or 89 and they asked exactly how close he was to the fighting and he replied "not close...maybe a mile or so."

After he was discharged from the army and after 4 years of dating, Wendell tied the knot with his life-long love, Vivian Frances Elkin on October 19, 1958. They lived on a rental farm first before being offered the opportunity to purchase "the Tuschoff farm" located right next to the "Anderson homeplace."

Their first child, Linda, arrived in 1960 followed by Laurie Ann, Barry and Sonya. Since he was a farmer, the kids had more opportunities to spend with their dad, even during planting and harvest season but especially when sorting and loading hogs on Saturday mornings when the kids would take turns taking a load of hogs to market and receive their reward of a bottle of pop for their hard work. And when the kids would complain about walking beans in the summer with their dad they would ask "Awww, do we have to?" He would reply "You don't have to...you GET to."

Wendell was an active supporter of his kid's activities from speech, music and band contests to all sorts of athletic events, including putting many miles on the brown and tan Dodge Ram van as he and Vivian trekked all over the Midwest to watch Barry play basketball for Buena Vista. 

While the kids were growing up, they said that they very much enjoyed watching their dad play church league softball and later on Senior League volleyball. He enjoyed playing sports as well as watching basketball and baseball in particular on TV the most. He really enjoyed the sports conversations that he later shared with his daughter-in-law, Dana and they would discuss the merits of the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Tennessee Volunteers in particular. One of his favorite memories in his later years was actually attending a Minnesota Twins game with Vivian, Barry & Dana. He said that had been on his “bucket list” but he never actually thought he would get to do that.

In the summer of 1979, another family member was added to the Wendell & Vivian's family when Guadalupe Larrea Flores came to live with the Anderson family for a year as the first ever exchange student to South Clay. Unlike many exchange students who live with a family for a year and then rarely visit their host family again, Guady became a regular visitor to the farm and later to their home in Spencer. Wendell was just as supportive of Guady as any of the other kids, traveling to Pittsburg, Kansas for her graduation with her Master's degree. He later became the "bonus grandpa" to her son, Juan Sebastian and took great pride in all of their achievements.

All this time Wendell was also involved in many community events from being on the Dickens Coop Elevator for over 30 years, many years on the South Clay school board and a deacon and elder at First Christian Church in Spencer. He was intentional about supporting his local community. Once when asked why he took his vehicle to Burger's gas station in Gillett Grove instead of up to Spencer he explained that it really matters when you support a local business because you're helping that business and the family running it to be successful AND that if you don't support your local businesses, pretty soon that business won't be there anymore.

It wasn't just the businesses either. Wendell was intentional about supporting the Dickens Fire Department and their pancake & sausage fundraisers and the turkey dinner and auction at the Greenville Congregational Church. He was also intentional with supporting First Christian Church and demonstrating that sometimes you give financially and sometimes by manual labor and sometimes by serving on a committee or leading in some capacity or by prayer.

His faith in Christ was a big part of who he was. He was quiet but consistent about how he lived out his faith. One of his personal rules was to choose not to farm the land on Sundays. He fed the cattle and the hogs but chose to set aside farming with his tractor and "keep the sabbath" and take a day of rest. His faith was tested at many points throughout his life -- when he served in Korea, when he had ulcerative colitis, followed by years of ulcerative colitis with Linda, the farming crisis, prostate cancer and more. All the while he held fast to his faith, knowing that these situations, although large and looming at the moment were still only temporary.

His faith in Christ as his savior allowed him to live confidently. It also allowed him to not take things too seriously and to look for the humor in things. If there was a trademark characteristic about him, it was his humor and his teasing of almost anyone who crossed paths with him.

Even after moving to Spencer, he still spent many days out at the farm helping Barry and later his grandson, Christopher on the Anderson farm. He was the one who taught Dana how to drive the combine and also, in her words was "the pig whisperer" as he taught her how to corral and sort hogs. He had an innate ability to know better than the computer in the combine what the crop yield would be in the different parts of the field. In the fall of 2023, he spent an entire afternoon in the combine with Christopher "harvesting." That afternoon was a high point for him.

Wendell was well regarded by so many for his approachability, his wisdom, his common sense, his listening ear and his humor. He enjoyed people and made special effort to include others in his circle of friendships, although he didn't actually regard himself as unique in that way.

Wendell was always very conscientious about honoring Vivian with flowers and creative gifts every Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, her birthday and their anniversary. One of his traditions that he shared with Sonya was the annual “Around The Farm Christmas Gift Scavenger Hunt” for mom’s gifts. This is when he would send Soni off to go find Vivian’s Christmas gifts hidden on the seat of his combine, in his tractor, in the glovebox of his farm truck and anywhere else he could think of to hide his gifts for Vivian. It was then up to Soni to not only retrieve these gifts but also wrap them on his behalf.

One of the best birthday gifts that Wendell ever received was when Brian and Sonya (Anderson) Nash's daughter, Abigail, was born on his birthday when he was 84 years old and this past November they celebrated, as they always have every year with a shared birthday cake. There was a special bond between these two "birthday twins."

Although he wasn't very effusive with his praise, he demonstrated his love and his pride for his kids and his grandkids by attending hundreds of soccer, baseball, basketball and softball games of Megan, Taylor and Christopher; concerts and plays of Joshua and Caleb, Juan Sebastian's graduation from Purdue University Aviation program and Abby's concerts & soccer games.

He would probably be embarrassed to read these words written about him because "he's not really that special." But then again, don't all of the humble people say that about themselves?

Wendell joins a great cloud of witnesses in heaven including his parents, Celia & Elmer Anderson; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Frances & Marshall Elkin; his older brother, Ronald who served as a missionary in Africa; his younger brother, Deane, who he farmed together with for many years and Deane's wife, Margaret (Elkin, who is a sister to Vivian), brothers-in-law, Russell Werts, husband of his sister, Wilma and Lowell Sjogren, husband of his sister, Lola. Also, Wayne Salton, husband of Doris (Elkin) Salton.

Eagerly anticipating seeing him again are his wife, Vivian; his daughter Linda of Spirit Lake, his daughter, Laurie Ann Anderson & husband, Jim Riphagen of Orange City; his son, Barry and wife, Dana of Greenville; his daughter, Sonya & Brian Nash of Spencer; his daughter Guadalupe Larrea Flores of Quito Ecuador as well as his grandchildren and great grandchildren: Joshua, Makayla & Charlie Ann Davidson - Orange City; Megan, Collin, Hadley & Griffin Kjose - ,Sioux Falls; Taylor, Luke & Vivian Majerus - New Prague, MN; Caleb Davidson - Fort Collins, CO, Christopher, Nicole & Hallie Anderson - Spencer; Abigail Nash - Spencer and Juan Sebastian Ponce Larrea - Chicago, IL.

Wendell is also survived by his sisters Wilma Werts of Pueblo, CO; Doris & Don Nissen - Spencer: Lola Sjogren – Sibley, sister-in-law, Clela (McCall) Anderson – St Louis and by Vivian's siblings Doris Salton - Dickens and Marshall & Lillian Elkin – Carlock, IL and many friends and relatives.