James Harry Anderson was born on Oct. 1, 1930, in Cumberland, Wisconsin, to Arthur and Agnes Anderson. He grew up in the Frederic, Wisconsin area and graduated from Frederic High school in 1948. Upon graduating he worked until joining the U.S. Army in 1951. He married Patricia Stower on March 24,1952 before deploying to Korea. He rose to the rank of sergeant and commanded a radio communication truck during the war. After completing his military service, he graduated from Dunwoody Institute and attended the University of Minnesota until he was hired at Honeywell, where he worked for 35 years until his retirement in 1991. He had two sons, Greg and Todd. Jim and his family lived in Golden Valley, Minnesota for many years until retiring and moving to Amery, Wisconsin in 1991.
Although Jim had many talents and interests, he loved being a husband and father most of all. He was devoted to his family and loved spending as much time as possible with them. Much of that time was spent on a farm he purchased in the early 1960s for his mother- and father-in-law. Jim enjoyed hunting, especially his annual bow hunting trips with his friend Roger Belau, fishing with his boys, working on weekends on the farm, and attending various activities whenever and wherever his children and grandchildren had an event. He was an active member of Golden Valley United Methodist Church and the Congregational and First Lutheran churches in Amery for many years. Jim and Pat moved to Mankato, Minnesota, in 2017.
After retirement Jim enjoyed gardening, making maple syrup, traveling, including several trips to Europe with Pat, and twice hiking the Grand Canyon (once rim to rim) with his friend Rev. Jerry Jackson. He enjoyed attending his grandchildren’s sports and music events through the years. He became a certified scuba diver at the age of 75 while on a trip to St. Lucia with his son Todd. He was able to make his annual deer hunting event until the age of 87. He had significant challenges during his final years, but continued to enjoy attending family activities until a few weeks before his death. He especially enjoyed seeing his young great-grandchildren during his last years.
He is survived by his wife of 73 years, Pat; sons, Greg (Deb) Anderson and Todd (Katia) Anderson; grandchildren, Tyler (Sapphire), Ben (Austen), Jordan (Shelby) and Adriana; great-grandchildren, August, Mae, River, Oakes and Luca; sister, Marlene (Lew) Olson; and beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers, Art and Don.
Jim died on July 5, 2025, in Mankato. A memorial service will be held July 19 at 11:00 a.m., at Belgrade Avenue United Methodist Church in North Mankato, Minnesota. Visitation one hour before the service.
Memorials preferred to First Lutheran Church in Amery, Echo Food Shelf in Mankato, or donor’s choice.
