OBITUARY FOR CHARLES H. "CHUCK" ANDERSON

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AT THE REQUEST OF THE FAMILY:  Charles H. Anderson was called home on Thursday April 30, 2020 but due to his usual habit of procrastination, he did not arrive until Friday May 1, 2020. The cause of death was complications of congestive heart failure made even more complicated by COVID-19; he was 95. Determined to outlive a neighbor, the famous Ed Rondthaler, he was bested by 9 years; it certainly was not due to the under consumption of hot dogs.

Born September 29, 1924 the ninth child of Francis Oscar and Mathilda (Tillie) Anderson in Easton MN, he graduated high school in Delavan, MN and briefly attended St. John’s College in MN prior to enlisting in the Navy. He would attend preparatory school for the Naval Academy at Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit MD.  While in Maryland, he would visit his brother Bill who was at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.  Chuck would recall fondly the hijinks that he and Bill got up to in Baltimore that would ultimately end up with Bill’s relocation to Minnesota to finish seminary safely away from temptation.

He then transferred to the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY where he met the love of life Joan Anderson (nee Hempel) while she was playing piano for the USO. After a brief courtship, they went their separate ways to finish college. Chuck graduated from Colorado College in Colorado Springs in 1949. He received his PhD in Economics from the New School for Social Research in 1987.

Although he first enlisted in Army and received an appointment to West Point, he chose instead to join the Navy.  He was achieved the rank of Ensign aboard the USS Bayfield.  He like to brag that he was on the ship that led the Normandy Invasion during World War II but after the war was safely over. Chuck was stationed out of Tsing Tao China from July 1947 to March of 1948 where he served as the paymaster for the Bayfield earning the China Service Medal.  He liked to say that he served years in the Navy without ever hearing a shot fired in anger.

After his service, he moved to New York and reunited with Joan who had moved to attend St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, NY.  They were married September 29, 1951 in Rochester, NY.  The wedding was on his birthday so that he could never claim to forget his anniversary.

He worked for years in New York City in econometrics and forecasting before retiring early to live a life of leisure in Croton-on-Hudson where he and Joan had settled in 1960.  They adopted two children, Mark in September 1958 and Mary in March 1964.  Chuck would return to the work force in 1979 as an Associate Professor of Finance for CW Post College, an affiliate of Long Island University.  He enjoyed his years teaching because not only did it provide him a captive audience for his “finance jokes” but because the job was not excessively daily.  Chuck also taught at Lehman College in the Bronx and in the Officer’s graduate training program at West Point.

Chuck finally retired from teaching at the age of 79 to enjoy his golden years with Joan. They enjoyed traveling the country and the world faithfully returning to Minnesota every other year for the August family reunions.  They enjoyed spending time with friends and their grandchildren, Megan and Brugger.

Chuck led an active life in Croton. He was a long time parishioner at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, the Croton Seniors, and the Croton Men’s Social Club. He served as Treasurer and also supervised the coffee service at the Senior’s ensuring it never turned too much of a profit.  He enjoyed volunteer driving for the Croton Caring Committee and was only forced from service when they wanted to give some of the younger members a chance.  He was inducted into the Westchester Senior Citizen’s Hall of fame in 2006.  He maintained the garden at Gotwald Circle for many years keeping it vibrant with flowers whose seeds he would faithfully save each fall to replant in the spring.  He routinely prowled the aisles of Shoprite, coupons in hand, for neighbors who were no longer able to shop for themselves.  He was most proud of his “negative value” items that he stockpiled at home due to his ever-thrifty nature.

He maintained regular engagements with friends at area diners where his standard order never varied, a BLT and coffee.  He will be remembered as a lover of crosswords, puns, corny jokes, and old timey polkas.  He could always be counted on to declaim a poem or to quote Robert Burns and recite grace in German at family gatherings; he prefigured the Internet as a source of all trivial facts.

Chuck was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 50 years Joan Hempel Anderson who is still mad that he was so late, his 9 sisters and 3 brothers.  He is survived by his son, Mark, of Brewster, NY, daughter, Mary, of Baltimore MD, his grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews who fondly remember their crazy Uncle Chuck from NY. 

You will note from the date of publication of this obituary that his children inherited his habit of procrastination.  A celebration of life will be held at a future date due to the pandemic.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Holy Name of Mary Parish in Croton-on-Hudson.