A. John Anderson
A previous version of this life story incorrectly stated the day that services for Mr. Anderson will be held.
A. John Anderson of Lakeland, Fla., died Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. He was 87.
He is remembered as a generous and helpful man, always putting family first.
"He was very generous with his time," his daughter, Mary Mills, said.
Mills remembers a time when her father helped her about 15 years ago. As a youth counselor for her church, Mills planned to take some children to North Carolina for a retreat.
"The person who was supposed to be driving with me literally backed out 24 hours before we were supposed to leave," Mills recalled. "He dropped everything and drove with me. That was the kind of person he was, and he was always doing stuff for other people."
Mr. Anderson lived in Columbia for almost 50 years before recently moving to Florida to be closer to his family.
"He loved the small town feeling, the university life, the people and how friendly everyone is," Mills said. "They had so many good friends there."
Mr. Anderson was born Jan. 2, 1924, in Towanda, Kan., to Andreas and Lydia (Rubener) Anderson, the sixth child of seven children.
He attended high school in Wichita, Kan., and upon graduation served in the Army Air Corps as a radar technician in World War II from 1944 to 1946.
After returning from the war, Mr. Anderson received a bachelor's degree in education from the College of Emporia.
In 1949, he married Florence Christine Strickler. They were married 62 years The couple moved to Chicago, where Mr. Anderson graduated from McCormick Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister.
Upon moving to Columbia, Mr. Anderson and his wife became active in the First Presbyterian Church.
He taught history, anthropology and African studies at Hickman High School from 1961 to 1991.
He also received two Fulbright Scholarship awards, which he used to study culture and anthropology in Senegal and Israel.
Mr. Anderson is survived by his wife, Florence Christine Strickler; and his daughter, Mary Mills, and her husband, Peter.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. *Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, 16 Hitt St. A reception will follow at the church; all friends are welcome to attend.
The family requests that instead of flowers, donations be made to Feral Fanciers Inc., an animal rescue organization. Donations can be mailed to Feral Fanciers Inc., P. O. BOX 92330, Lakeland, FL 33804-2330 or made online at feralfanciers.org.
