"Our heartfelt sympathies to the entire family. We are sadden to hear of your loss. May you find solace in the love and memories shared together and may God comfort you with these words from the Bible. "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)"
In loving memory of
Robert I. Anderson
September 24, 1923 - April 26, 2015
ANDERSON, ROBERT I. MADISON, WI/MT PLEASANT, SC
Robert I. Anderson, 91, died peacefully on April 26, 2015 at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, WI with his children at his side. Bob recently returned to his family and Madison, WI after living and working as an accomplished professional mechanical engineer in Minnesota, Montana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Georgia and South Carolina.
Bob was born September 24, 1923 to Robert Albin and Effie Nugent Anderson. Following a downhill skiing accident in 1940, Bob lost the vision in one eye which prevented him from serving in WWII. He was raised in Minneapolis, and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1945. In 1951, Bob married Mary Willmert at Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church where they had both been lifelong members. They raised their four children, Robert (Marilouise) Anderson, Milwaukee, WI, Kathleen (David) Waisman, Spokane, WA, David Anderson, Madison, WI, Susan (Jeff) Meinholz, Madison, WI, and was proud grandpa to Forrest (Tracy) Anderson, Brookfield, WI, Dale (Heidi) Anderson, Hales Corners, WI, Bill (Crystine Dai) Meinholz, St. Paul, MN, Monika (Ryan) Jacobson, Seattle, WA, Laura (Jeremy) Tomczak, St. Croix Falls, WI, Sarah Waisman, Los Angeles, CA, Mary Anderson, Madison, WI, and Isabella Anderson, Evanston, IL and great-grandpa to Desiderio, Amico and Aria Anderson of Brookfield, Haley and Ayden Anderson of Hales Corners, and Finley Jacobson of Seattle.
His years as a partner in the architectural and engineering firm of Weiler, Strang and McMillan were especially memorable for him professionally. Bob thoroughly enjoyed the building projects and the opportunity to mentor and train others in the mechanical engineering field. In 1971, Bob and Mary moved with their three youngest children to Caracas, Venezuela as members of the Peace Corps where he assisted the government in improvements to hospital and medical facility heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.
Bob married Lois McGurk in 1980 and eventually settled in Mt. Pleasant, SC. He was active in Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and the East Cooper-Mt. Pleasant Kiwanis Club.
Returning to Madison in 2014 allowed him to reconnect with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as his life wound down. Bob suffered from years of the effects of bipolar disorder, and eventually succumbed to its hold on him. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings June (Derald) West and Bruce Anderson. Bob is further survived by his brother Roger (Dorothy) Anderson of Golden Valley, MN.
Bob's family would like to thank all of those who were so generous in their time, talents, gifts and friendship in his last months in Madison: his physicians, the staff and residents of The Gardens and Segoe Gardens, Bethany United Methodist Church, the West Madison Kiwanis Club and the comforting arms of Agrace HospiceCenter. Memorials can be made in his name to Bethany United Methodist Church, Madison, or Agrace HospiceCenter of Fitchburg.
A private family gathering will be held.
"If you miss the train I'm on, you will know that I am gone. You can hear the whistle blow, a hundred miles."
Please share your memories at www.cressfuneralservice.com
Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road Madison
(608) 238-3434
Tributes
"Ah, Bob...a great friend, fun guy, marvelous engineer, everybody's buddy and, as I once memorialized him in a 75th birthday song, "a cheese headed sort of a guy". Bob and I met through a local engineering firm where Bob worked and he subsequently got me to join the East Cooper Kiwanis Club in the 90's. We hit it off right away! Club activities and fund raisers (i.e., the concession stand at the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament), rounds of golf, designing buildings and the mechanical systems, Thanksgiving dinner...what a range of fun and frivolity we had! The golf tournament trip with the Beaufort Kiwanis Club is one memory that stands out. Bob and his compatriot, side-kick, "partner in crime" (so to speak) and fellow Kiwanian, Bill Kingsley, were non-stop talkers the entire trip over and back to Beaufort. Their banter was of the ilk of a comedy duo, finishing each other's sentences, ramblings of all sorts on endless topics. My son of 14 was along on that ride and, when we finally dropped Bob and Bill off back in Mount Pleasant, my son summarized their talking as "like the worst radio talk show duo ever!" In truth, the jaw muscles of everyone in the car were completely worn out from all the laughing as Bob and Bill went on. I still keep a picture on my wall from Thanksgiving dinner when Bob and Lois came over to join me, and my son and daughter. The highlight, as Bob and Lois were leaving, was my 110 lb flat coated retriever, Amos, jumping in Bob's car when they opened the door. Amos proceeded to sit in the front passenger seat ignoring my demands to get out...he was all ready to go home with his new found friends! Bob's laughter at that still rings in my ears! But this "cheese-headed sort of a guy" friend is maybe my best memory. Lois and I colluded to celebrate Bob's 75th birthday at a forthcoming Kiwanis end-of-the-year banquet. Lois cautioned me that Bob would not want his age made known in whatever I did. So the cake was a thermostat with the temperature set at "75". And I wrote a song, to the tune of "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", that went like this - "Bob is our finest Kiwanian, a cheese-headed sort of a guy. Love him though he's Minnesotan, East Cooper's membership guy...East Cooper's membership guy". You don't find friends like Bob very often - I was lucky! Steve Russell, Mount Pleasant, SC"