John E. Anderson, 76
Ely/Sartell
Dec. 13, 1947-Oct. 6, 2024
John E. Anderson, 76, died Oct. 6 at Cherrywood Advanced Living in St. Cloud, with his wife, Lee, by his side. His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19 in Celebration Lutheran Church, 1500 Pinecone Road N., Sartell. The Revs. Jeff Sackett and Russ Britton will officiate. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Arrangements have been entrusted to Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids.
Anderson was born in Virginia, Minn., to John A. and Eleanor (Berg) Anderson. He spent his childhood on the east end of beautiful Burntside Lake at Echo Trail Lodge, enjoying the lake and the outdoors with his brothers, cousins and the many resort guests who became lifelong friends. He graduated from Ely Memorial High School in 1966. Anderson attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., where he met Lee Blanc, whom he married on campus on May 29, 1970, two days prior to his graduation. Together, they made their home and raised their three boys JD, Brad and Marty in Ely where Anderson was a mathematics teacher, coach of numerous activities and the athletic director at Ely high school. While in Ely, Anderson was an active member of Grace Lutheran Church, and more recently, he was a member of Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell. Throughout his life, Anderson was also a proud member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe.
In 1990, he and Lee purchased Anderson’s Resort on Burntside Lake in Ely to carry on the family tradition of hosting families in the north woods. Anderson enjoyed hunting, fishing and waterskiing at the lake. He loved hockey and was an avid Minnesota sports fan. He especially loved his boys, his grandchildren, Gustavus, the University of Minnesota and Burntside Lake.
Survivors include the following: his wife, Lee of Sartell/Ely; sons, John “J.D.” (Holly) Anderson of Sartell, Brad (Gina) Anderson of Eveleth, and Marty (Stacy) Anderson of Sartell; brothers, Rick (Polly) Anderson of Ely, Dan (Lucy) Anderson of Cloquet and Robert (Marilyn Heiman) Anderson of Alaska; sister-in-law, Jill Anderson of Farmington; and grandchildren, Buddy, Alexa, Connor, Cally, Brady, John, Gavin and Gracie.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Mark.
The Anderson family is grateful for the compassionate and wonderful care shown to Anderson from everyone at Visiting Angels, Good Shepherd Community, St. Croix Hospice and Cherrywood Advanced Living. The family requests memorials be sent to Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell.
Obituary, guest book and video tribute available online: www.williamsdingmann.com
