John B. Anderson

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 Edgewater Retirement Community in West Des Moines. Graveside services will be Friday, June 16, at 12 p.m. at the Storm Lake Cemetery followed by a luncheon at the Storm Lake United Methodist Church. A celebration of life will be Saturday, June 17, at 10:30 a.m. at Edgewater Retirement Community, 9225 Cascade Ave., West Des Moines. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. John graduated second in his class from Gowrie Consolidated School in 1941. He attended Fort Dodge Junior College and graduated from Iowa State University in 1949 with a B.S. in agricultural journalism. John married Shirley JoAnn Dankel in Lake View on August 24, 1952. They had three daughters, Elizabeth, Krista and Janet, and six grandchildren. John spent his career operating community newspapers in Iowa and received the Master Editor-Publisher Award from the Iowa Newspaper Association in 1977. He started as a reporter/editor in Eagle Grove, then owned and operated newspapers in Britt (1952–66) and Storm Lake (1970–80). He also was a stockholder and board member in the Dyersville and Waukon newspapers. In 1966, he served on the staff for Murray for Governor in Des Moines. For many years, he served as president of the J.S. Anderson Farm Corp., Gowrie, overseeing the Century Farm in Clay Township, Webster County, where he was born and that was purchased by his grandfather in 1884. He was dedicated to community activities in the towns where he operated newspapers. In Britt, he was the secretary of the Britt Chamber of Commerce for 12 years; president of Britt Lions Club; director-secretary of the Britt Scholarship and Loan Fund; president of the Hawkeye Press Club; helped organize the Britt Industrial Development Corp. and the Britt Community Chest; and served on the Board of the Britt United Methodist Church. In Storm Lake, he was president of the Storm Lake Chamber of Commerce and served on the Storm Lake Economic Development Corp. board, Methodist Manor board; City Planning and Zoning Commission; the first Star Spangled Spectacular committee; as Storm Lake’s representative on the Highway 20 Corridor Committee; and as SCORE officer and charter member. He served on the District Judicial Nominating Committee and as chairman of the Buena Vista County Human Services Board and the Salvation Army. He was active in Republican politics, serving as a delegate to many county, district and state conventions and was named an alternate delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1984. He was a member of the Storm Lake First United Methodist Church, Sigma Delta Chi journalism fraternity, Kappa Sigma social fraternity, ISU Alumni Association and Order of the Knoll, Lake Creek Country Club, N.W. Iowa senior golfers, and the Lions and Elks clubs. He was a community education program Rockin’ Reader and after-school counselor. He received the 4-H Alumni Award, SCORE 20-year service award, and SCORE Gold Member Award. 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 daughters Elizabeth Anderson (Loren Kruse), Ankeny; Krista Packard (Guy), Holland, Mich.; and Janet Fry (Steve), Waukee; sister Margaret Paulos, Davenport; and grandchildren Chris Packard, St. Joseph, Mich.; John Kruse, Ankeny; Erin Fry, Waukee; Anne Packard, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Kate (Drew) Warnock, Lexington Park, Md.; and Kyra Fry, Dallas, Tex.; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, 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.

John B. Anderson

January 13, 1923 - June 7, 2017