Ralph E. ANDERSON

ANDERSON, WHARTON, WINTERFELD, TRAUSCH

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 4/21/2007 at 20:30:26

Ralph E. Anderson, 78, of Goodell, passed away Wednesday (Dec. 17, 2003) at his home near Goodell with his family at his side. Funeral service for Ralph Anderson will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Goodell United Methodist Church, with Pastor Paddy Druhl officiating. Burial will be in Amsterdam Cemetery in Goodell. Military rites will be provided by the Veteran's Honor Guard of Belmond and Goodell. Friends may greet the family from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Dugger Ewing Funeral Home, 111 Luick's Lane S. in Belmond, and one hour prior to services at the church.

Ralph, the son of Burton and Laura Wharton Anderson, was born July 1, 1925, in Peotone, Ill. He grew up in the Peotone area where attended area schools, he then moved to Waterloo, Iowa. Ralph served his country in the U. S. Navy during World War II as a fireman aboard the USS Langley. On June 12, 1945, Ralph was united in marriage with Mildred Winterfeld in Minneapolis, Minn. Following Ralph's discharge from the Navy, the couple made their home in Minneapolis for a time, where he was employed in a factory. Ralph later was a farmhand in various places in the Midwest. The family moved to the Kanawha area in 1948, where they resided until 1953 when they moved to Belmond. In 1969, they purchased the farm in Twin Lakes Township, where they have since resided. Ralph was forced to retire from farming in 1976, due to health reasons. Ralph was an avid bowler, and rarely missed bowling with his league. He also enjoyed gardening and helping his daughter Pam prepare crafts for sale. Watching the wildlife around his farm was a great enjoyment for him. Ralph was a member of the Goodell American Legion, where he was a Past Commander, and of the Belmond VFW.

Ralph is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mildred; his children: Vernon Anderson at home and Pamela Trausch and her husband, Dennis, of Belmond; three brothers: Lester Anderson and his wife, Dedee, of Kanawha, Delbert Anderson and his wife, Helen, of Arizona, and Donald Anderson and his wife, Ione, of Minneapolis; one step-sister; one half brother; one sister-in-law, Kathy Anderson, of Minneapolis; and numerous nieces and nephews. Ralph is preceded in death by his parents; and one brother, Kenneth.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Hospice of North Iowa or the Goodell United Methodist Church kitchen. Dugger Ewing Funeral Home.

December 19, 2003, Mason City Globe Gazette