William "Bill" Thorwald Anderson Jr. (1921-1974)       

Nevada & Colorado

Photos:

Bill Anderson

Links:

• Facts

• Wife - Shirley Vardiman Anderson

• Son - James Edward Anderson

• Son - Robert Charles Anderson

Bill and Shirley
1948

Jim Anderson with grandson, Jim

Anderson Family 1954
Sons: Jim and Bob

1954 - Jim and Bob,
Shirley & Bills children

Anderson Family 1955
Sons: Jim and Bob

1957 Anderson Family

Anderson Family in 1962

Anderson Family in 1970's

1973 Hippie Anderson boys
with their Dad, Bill
Jim in Navy blue shirt, Bob with beard

1974 Bill added a dining room.

He also liked to garden.

Family

"Bill was born December 18, 1921 in Winnemucca, Nevada but his parents returned to Montrose, Colorado when he was a baby. They lived in an area called Bostwick Park which was on the way to the Black Canyon. He loved the Canyon and we always took a trip up there when we were in Montrose, Colorado.

We were married August 5, 1947 in Montrose at the Congregational Church where Bill’s parents were members. It was a very small ceremony with Bill’s best friend Rodney Woodburn and his wife standing up with us. We had a nice reception at the Anderson home and then headed for Grand Junction. We had a week off and made our way back to Denver. Our son Jim was born on May 23, 1949.

Bill was a nice looking man, well mannered, hard working, and loved me and his boys. He was a very faithful husband and I never had to worry about him going to a bar or becoming involved with anyone else. While we had a lot of different opinions, we were finally able to work them out and had 27 years of marriage. We enjoyed trips to the mountains - sometimes just a day trip - sometimes overnight camping trips which I didn’t particularly enjoy. After one weekend trip in Rocky Mountain National Park when it was very cold, I told him that was the end of my camping adventures, he would have to just take the boys. We enjoyed eating out and going to plays at Elitch Theatre and to the operas in Central City. Bill was very much of a homebody and had many hobbies - trains, collecting coins, music, photography, and he loved to have garage sales.

Bill had one sister, Marian, who was married to John Wade. John was a Presbyterian minister and when we were married they were back in New York where he was in Seminary. They soon moved to Colorado and later lived in Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah and back to Colorado. Marian was a great friend and was like the sister I never had and wanted so desperately (when I asked for a little sister my Mother said “NO WAY!”). Marian and John had two sons, Ted and Richard. Ted was just two weeks younger than Jim. Marian had a stillborn daughter the year Bob was born and she is buried in Crown Hill. The next year Richard was born, so the four boys were all close in age and had great times together, especially when they could all be in Montrose together.

Bill's Career - Roswell, New Mexico then back to Denver, Colorado

I don’t remember just when but Bill got a job at the Harry H. Post Company which sold paper products. He was a salesman and didn’t particularly like it. He later got a job with Lever Brothers Company and after working for them for a couple of years he was transferred to Roswell, New Mexico. I did not enjoy our time in Roswell. Bill traveled - he would leave on Monday morning and come back on Friday night. We stayed there for about two and one-half years - until I could no longer stand the cockroaches, mice, wind and dust. Our son Bob was born in Roswell on June 8, 1952.

When we returned from Roswell, the Fenton Street house was vacant and we were able to move back in there. The first year back in Denver was difficult as Bill had a hard time finding a job. He worked as a car salesman, insurance salesman and finally found a job with International Harvester in the Parts Department. He worked there until his death in 1974.

House

We stayed in the Fenton Street house until 1961 when we saw a house at 2595 Ingalls (just a few blocks away) which was for sale and which we bought. One of the things we enjoyed doing was looking at “Open Come In’s” which were houses for sale. This is how we happened to buy the Ingalls Street house. It was available on a GI Loan, we paid $300 down and our payments were $100 a month. It had a full finished basement with two bedrooms and a bath and that became “home” for the boys. They enjoyed their own rooms and privacy. There were two bedrooms upstairs, a full bath, living room, small dinette and kitchen. In 1974 we decided to add a dining room to the back of the house. Bill did a lot of the work himself. Once he started a project, he couldn’t stop. He was working nights and then would get up early in the morning and start working on the house. We also built a patio out back. There was a flower bed in back and Bill had planted some daffodils and tulips which he didn’t tell me about. I had asked him to plant these and he kept telling me that he didn’t like those particular flowers - that they didn’t last long enough. I didn’t know until the next Spring when they came up (too late for me to thank him) that he had planted these for me. Bill liked to work in the yard and it always looked very nice. There was a row of lilac bushes, lots of iris and other flowers, a cherry tree, and, of course, Bill had his garden and we always enjoyed good food from there.

Heart Attack

On November 3, 1974 Bill passed away from a heart attack. I found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. I immediately called the Fire Department and the Police were there before I could get my clothes on. I’m sure he was already dead but he was taken by ambulance to Lutheran Hospital. This was about 5:30 on a Sunday morning. My good neighbors, Decema and Johnny Weaver, heard the sirens and came over immediately. I rode in the ambulance with Bill and the Weavers came to the hospital. After he was pronounced, the Weavers took me to notify the boys - Bob was living in Lakewood and Jim in Boulder - what a difficult thing to have to tell them. We had private services on Wednesday with only our immediate family, Bill’s folks and his sister Marian and her husband John. Bill is buried in Crown Hill in Wheat Ridge in the family plot where his grandparents and Marian’s baby were already buried. Since then his parents have been buried there."

MY LIFE STORY - SHIRLEY MARIE VARDIMAN ANDERSON
Written in February, 2006 (As I approach my 80th birthday)