James Anderson

JAMES MICHAEL ANDERSON was born on July 3, 1947 to Dorothea Marietta (Leicher) and Theodore Roosevelt Anderson in Luverne, Minnesota. He attended school in both, Luverne and Magnolia, Minnesota. On July 3, 1968 he married Eva Heidebrink at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Worthington, Minnesota and to this union four children were born, Ralph, Dawn, April, and Michael. The couple later divorced. James enlisted into the United States Navy and reported to Gulfport, Mississippi. He proudly served our country in Vietnam with the Navy SeaBees, whose is motto 'We Build, We Fight.' He was honorably discharged on September 20, 1971 and returned to Luverne working for the City of Luverne as a boiler operator. On September 16, 1978 James was united in marriage to Laurel Westebur in Luverne, Minnesota. The couple resided in Luverne. Jim later worked as a long distance driver for various trucking companies until 2002 when he left the 'open highways' for a desk job and he and Laurel purchased and ran SD Transport Services in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They both retired in 2010. On Sunday, December 1, 2013 James died peacefully surrounded by his family at the Royal C. Johnson Veterans Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the age of 66 years 4 months and 28 days.

James was an avid biker and a member of the Goldwing Road Riders Association and had served as the Chapter President for the SD Chapter L. He was active member of the Luverne American Legion and Luverne VFW serving as Post Commander. He participated with the Cooties, the Color Guard, and the Patriot Guard. He was a story teller and loved family get-togethers with his children and grandchildren. Playing Santa Claus and riding the Santa wagon tossing out candy made many a child smile over the years. He was a 'trekkie' and loved the being able to fabricate things from anything or nothing depending on how you looked at them. He followed the tv show NCIS and appreciated and collected things with military meaning.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Laura Anderson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; his four children, Ralph and his wife Jane Anderson of Worthington, Minnesota, Dawn Anderson of Adrian, Minnesota, April (lovingly known as 'Piggy') Anderson of Worthington, Minnesota, and Michael (lovingly known as 'Turkey') and his wife Shannon Anderson of Sibley, Iowa; eight grandchildren, Erika, Tyler, Dylan, Paige, Blake, Lauren, Courtney, and Harley, one great-grandson, Hunter; his mother, Dorothea Goembel of Ellsworth, Minnesota; four sisters, Stephanie (Gary) Frackman of Anchorage, Alaska, Juli (Cal) Kuipers of Mankato, Minnesota, Wendy (Dick) Grill of Luverne, Minnesota, Barbara Wise of Grand Junction, Colorado; three brothers, Daniel (Becky) Anderson of Larchwood, Iowa, Stephan (Donna) Anderson of Linden, Utah, and Thomas (Ronny) Anderson of Oceanside, California; 25 nieces and nephews; 21 grand nieces and nephews; and 6 great-grand nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Theodore Anderson, step-father, Leon Goembel, a sister, Michele Perkins; brothers-in-law, Charlie Siemer and Vernon Perkins; and father and mother-in-law John and Vi Westebur.

A Memorial Rally Ride will be held in Jim's honor on July 26, 2014. Details to follow closer to that date.