Donald Anderson, 85, of Vero Beach, passed away on May 8, 2014.
He is survived by his wife, Anne, of 48 years; sons, Albert (Suzanne), and Sumner (Renee); and grandchildren, Lindsey, Sumner, Stella, and Abigail.
Anderson was born in Zelzah, Calif., (now Northridge) in LA County, and has been a resident of Vero Beach for 17 years coming from Summit, N.J.
He was the youngest and last surviving child of Pastor Albert and Viola Anderson’s six children. His Dad and Mom were missionaries at a Lutheran school in China for many years, where most of their children were born and spent early childhood.
On returning to the US in 1928, Pastor Anderson established Lutheran mission congregations in the San Fernando Valley and established a dairy to provide work and food for his parishioners during the Depression.
In 1940, Pastor Anderson returned to China at the request of the church to check on the school where they had been, and the associated church and seminary. There was concern due to the imminent war. He was caught behind enemy lines and was unable to return to the US until 1945 just in time to ensure that his youngest son got properly enrolled at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. It was there where the family had lived in a mission cottage while he was away in China.
Within a year of his return Pastor Anderson died knowing that all his children had the opportunity to attend college and could become contributing members of society, which they did.
Following graduation from St. Olaf College, Anderson went to Luther Seminary. Though he graduated, he was never ordained. Rather, he elected to dedicate himself to immigration and refugee resettlement work in the US and abroad mostly in connection with Lutheran Congregations in the United States. The congregations have very successfully resettled many from Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, East Africa, Latin America and Indochina over the years.
As specific refugee movements ebbed and flowed, Anderson spent interim years as Assistant Director of the Lutheran Student Foundation at the University of Minnesota and as Alumni Director at St. Olaf College.
He was Director of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service from 1963 until 1976, when he retired. During this time he provided significant leadership in the intergovernmental agency world, particularly during the Ugandan and Vietnamese Refugee movements.
Anderson was always an active community member and very civic minded. He especially enjoyed providing leadership and support for the many activities in which his sons were involved, particularly managing and programming large swim meets.
A Memorial Service will be held at The Community Church of Vero Beach on Monday, May 19 at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Rotary Club of Vero Beach P.O. Box 2013 Vero Beach, FL 32961. Arrangements are by Strunk Funeral Home and Crematory of Vero Beach. A guest book is available at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
