Obituary of John Anderson

BIOGRAPHY ANDERSON ~ John William "Pete" Anderson passed away at the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre, Lloydminster, Alberta Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at the age of eighty-five years. Pete leaves to mourn: five children: Robert Anderson, Elaine (Percy) Flury, Lynn (Ardell) Olsen, Debra (David) Graham and Gary (Karen) Anderson; eleven grandchildren; nineteen great grandchildren; two sisters: Madeline (Lloyd) Knowles and Helen (Harry) Demaers and numerous other relatives. Pete was predeceased by his parents, John & Helen; wife, Pat in April 1999; and a sister, Ester Glew. The Funeral Service for Pete was conducted from First Baptist Church in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 2:00 P.M. with Richie Davies officiating. The eulogy was given by granddaughters: Nadine, Dawn and Lynelle. The hymns sung, "Amazing Grace" and "The Old Rugged Cross" were accompanied by pianist Irene Knowlson and leader of songs, John Las. Processional "Whispering Pines" and recessional "Roll On" were played during the service. The honorary pallbearers were all those who shared in his life. The active pallbearers were his grandsons: Marty Etherington, Dean Graham, Ryan Graham, Brady Garden, Justin Anderson and Michael Anderson. Interment was held in the Lloydminster City Cemetery, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Donations in Pete's memory may be made to Parkinson's Disease or to a charity of the donors choice. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Hello. My name is Nadine. I am the oldest granddaughter of Pete and the late Pat Anderson. Grandpa was the only son of John and Helen Anderson, with his three sisters, Esther, Madeline and Helen. He was nicknamed Pete by his parents. Grandpa was born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on December 20, 1927. He was raised on the Farm south of Lloydminster, where his son, Gary and wife, Karen now reside. Grandpa attended Rugby school, where his sisters and he would walk 1 ½ miles cross country or 2 ½ by road to school. They rode one horse to school sometimes and guess where Grandpa rode on the horse. The girls outnumbered him. The school is still standing today and Grandpa's initials are still carved in the wood on the outside of the school. He achieved his grade ten in school. After school, he worked with his Dad grading roads with a team of horses and an old pull grader. He later moved to Lloydminster and lived with his two sisters and did numerous odd jobs. He drove taxi and later owned his own taxi. He could tell you quite the stories of his years driving cab. He married Patricia Burzynski in September 1950. They purchased the farm near his parents place and moved there in 1952. They had five children, Robert, Elaine, Lynn, Debra and Gary. Grandpa's passion was trucking. He hauled asphalt, oil, grain, cattle and fertilizer. He owned and operated numerous trucks throughout his years of driving. He also enjoyed his farming. He gradually purchased more land and with cattle, horses, pigs, chickens and one goat worked hard to support his family. Pete spent many hours on the road traveling with his trucks and if not on the road, he was in the field farming. Grandpa was stern and quite blunt and to the point. I remember staying with them after I was done school. I had just ended a relationship with a young fellow and he would not quit calling me. Grandpa took his phone call one day and told him in no uncertain terms to get lost (and not politely). He definitely got the point across because I never heard from his again. Hi, my name is Dawn. My Grandpa always called me Blondey. He was the only one that ever called me that. Grandpa spent many hours on the road working early mornings to late at night and was still able to do his farming. He was always early or precisely on time. A client of Grandpa's told us a story about Grandpa phoning his to see if he could haul his load of cattle a little earlier than scheduled. The gentleman said it wouldn't be a problem, but what time would he be there. Pete replied that he was already backed up to his cattle chute. Grandpa's favorite color was black and all his trucks were that color. Later on he added a bit of red pin striping. He saw a lot of country during his years behind the wheel of his truck. He later down sized from the semi's to a one ton and trailer. After Grandma died, Grandpa's faithful companion was a lassie called Scotty. I remember Grandpa always had a pocket full of peppermints for a treat for Scotty. The crazy dog loved them. Hi. My name is Lynelle. Grandpa's health started to deteriorate and he was forced to quit his truck driving. He lived at home until 2009 when he was moved into Point's West. He loved to tour to the farm during seeding and harvest to make sure Uncle Gary was farming the land properly. I worked at the home and would spend all my free time visiting with him. He never closed the door to his room because he needed to know what was going on in the outside world. Grandpa passed away May 14th at 7:00 PM at the Dr Cooke nursing home. He leaves to mourn his five children as well as eleven grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren. He will make his last road trip to the Lloydminster Cemetery escorted by the last Peterbilt he owned. HAVE A SAFE TRIP GRANDPA! Card of Thanks The family of J.W. (Pete) Anderson would like to thank the great staff at the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre. The staff and their compassion and care were beyond our expectations. Thank you to the many people who visited Dad. Each visit was greatly appreciated by the family. We would also like to acknowledge the many people who have loves ones in the Dr. Cooke with Dad. They have all come to be precious friends. Thank you to Richard Davies for your time and the very special service. Also, thank you to Pastor John Las for his beautiful voice at the service. Thank you to all the people at First Baptist Church and especially the ladies who served a great lunch following the service. Special thanks to Glenn, Joel and Dave McCaw and their staff who were so caring and compassionate during this difficult time. No other service compares. Thank you to everyone who gave food, cards, phone calls, flowers and donations to our family. Our Dad and our families have many kind friends.