Anderson, John B. (1923-2017)

ANDERSON, JOHNSON, DANKEL, KRUSE, PACKARD, FRY, PAULOS, WARNOCK

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 6/21/2017 at 17:05:05

John B. Anderson
January 13, 1923 - June 7, 2017

John Burroughs Anderson was born on January 13, 1923, in Webster County, Iowa, to Paul and Mabel (Johnson) Anderson. He died peacefully in his sleep on June 7, 2017, at the Edgewater Retirement Community in West Des Moines.

John graduated second in his class from Gowrie Consolidated School in 1941. Next, he attended Fort Dodge Junior College before transferring to Iowa State University where he graduated in 1949 with a B.S. Degree in agricultural journalism. On August 24, 1952, he married Shirley JoAnn Dankel in Lake View. Subsequently, they had three daughters: Elizabeth, Krista, and Janet, and six grandchildren.

John spent his career operating community newspapers in Iowa. He started as a reporter/editor in Eagle Grove. Then, he owned and operated newspapers in Britt (1952–66) and Storm Lake (1970–80). He also was a stockholder in and board member on the Dyersville and Waukon newspapers. In 1966, he served on the staff of the Murray for Governor campaign in Des Moines. In 1977, he received the Master Editor-Publisher Award from the Iowa Newspaper Association.

For many years, John served as president of the J.S. Anderson Farm Corporation, Gowrie, overseeing the Century Farm in Clay Township, Webster County, that his grandfather had purchased in 1884 and where he was born.

Dedicated to supporting the communities in which he operated newspapers, he participated in many civic organizations. In Britt, he served as the secretary of the Britt Chamber of Commerce for twelve years; president of the Britt Lions Club; director-secretary of the Britt Scholarship and Loan Fund; president of the Hawkeye Press Club; and on the Board of the Britt United Methodist Church. In addition, he helped organize the Britt Industrial Development Corporation and the Britt Community Chest.

In Storm Lake, he served on several boards and committees: the Storm Lake Chamber of Commerce as president, the Highway 20 Corridor Committee as Storm Lake’s representative, the Buena Vista County Human Services Board as chairman, the Salvation Army, the Storm Lake Economic Development Corporation Board, the Methodist Manor Board; the City Planning and Zoning Commission; the first Star Spangled Spectacular Committee; and the District Judicial Nominating Committee. A charter member of SCORE, he, also, served as an officer of that organization. Active in Republican politics, he served as a delegate to many county, district, and state conventions, and in 1984, he was named as an alternate delegate to the National Republican Convention. For his dedication to community, he received the 4-H Alumni Award, the SCORE 20-year service award, and the SCORE Gold Member Award.

Moreover, he belonged to the Storm Lake First United Methodist Church, the Sigma Delta Chi journalism fraternity, the Kappa Sigma social fraternity, the ISU Alumni Association, the Order of the Knoll, the Lake Creek Country Club, the N.W. Iowa senior golfers, and the Lions and Elks clubs. In addition, he was a community education program Rockin’ Reader and an after-school counselor. He liked to golf, read, garden, fish, travel, and spend winters in Arizona.

In 2011, John and Jo moved to Edgewater Retirement Community in West Des Moines where John loved sharing nightly dinners in the Pub and playing bridge and pitch with his many good friends.

John is survived by his daughters: Elizabeth Anderson (Loren Kruse), of Ankeny, Krista (Guy) Packard, of Holland, Michigan, and Janet (Steve) Fry, of Waukee; his sister, Margaret Paulos, of Davenport; and his grandchildren: Chris Packard, of St. Joseph, Michigan, John Kruse, of Ankeny, Erin Fry, of Waukee, Anne Packard, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kate (Drew) Warnock, of Lexington Park, Maryland; and Kyra Fry, of Dallas, Texas; as well as by many nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by Shirley, his wife of sixty-two years, his parents, one brother, and three sisters.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John’s name to the Anderson-Kruse Fund for Excellence in News-Editorial Writing (Greenlee Journalism School, Iowa State University) through the ISU Foundation; the Edgewater Good Samaritan Fund; or the Storm Lake United Methodist Church.

Graveside services will be held Friday, June 16, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. at the Storm Lake Cemetery followed by a luncheon at the Storm Lake United Methodist Church. A celebration of life will take place Saturday, June 17, 2017, at 10:30 a.m. at the Edgewater Retirement Community, 9225 Cascade Ave., West Des Moines. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is overseeing the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Storm Lake Iowa, 2017.

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by LaVern Velau.
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