EDGEWATER, Md. – Gordon Albert Anderson, 82, died peacefully Nov. 26, 2008, at Casey House Montgomery Hospice, Rockville, Md. He was born June 16, 1926, on his grandparent’s, farm, the Sandstrom, North Main Street Hill, Stockholm, the eldest son of Albert L. and Elsie V. (Sandstrom) Anderson. He attended Stockholm schools and graduated from Caribou High School in 1943. After enlisting in the Navy upon graduation, he was transferred to Franklin and Marshall College and then received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1948. After three years at sea, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and became a Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officer. Assigned to Adm. Hyman Rickover’s staff for six years, he participated in the construction of Navy nuclear power plants in New York, Connecticut and Idaho. He retired from the Navy after 20 years of service at the rank of commander. He worked briefly as a civil engineer for Omaha Public Power and then for 22 years as a consulting engineer for MPR Associates, Washington, D.C. Upon retirement he lived in Edgewater, Md., where he continued to engage in part-time engineering consulting and many hobbies, such as free-lance writing, sailing and flying to include general aviation and experimental aircraft. As a lifelong pilot and a certified hot air balloon instructor, he gave the gift of flight and adventure to hundreds of friends and relatives. He is survived by his wife, Alice Elaine of Palmetto, Fla.; son, Glenn and wife, Julie, and children, Jordan, Janie and Jack, of Tulsa, Okla.; son, Kevin of Frederick, Md.; daughter, Lisa Elaine and husband, Joseph Thibodeau, and children, Elsa, Irene and Anna, of Stockholm; brother, Donald and his wife, Theresa, of Caribou; brother, Louis of Garden Grove, Calif.; brother, David and wife, Gusty, of Stockholm; brother, Paul and wife, Marion, of Irvine, Calif.; brother-in-law, Robert Sprague of Stockholm; brother, Charles and wife, Karen, of Stockholm; many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; sister, Karen Sprague; sister-in-law, Della Anderson of Stockholm; and sister-in-law, Frances Anderson of Garden Grove, Calif. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis, Md. Interment will be held July 5, 2009, in Stockholm. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made on behalf of Gordon Anderson to Trinity Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 22, Stockholm, ME 04783 or Stockholm Historical Society, 280 Main St., Stockholm, ME 04783. <
GORDON A. ANDERSON
