Richard A. Anderson

FOREST CITY - Richard A. Anderson, age 69 of Forest City, died Sunday, October 3, 2010 at Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City, Iowa.
Funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City with Rev. Douglas Domokos, Pastor at Word of Faith Dominion Church in Lake Mills officiating.
Burial will be at Madison Township Cemetery in rural Forest City.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 PM on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at the funeral home and will continue an hour prior to service at the church.

Richard was born on February 28, 1941 west of Forest City IA, on the family farm to Reuben and Thona (Halverson) Anderson. He grew up with 6 sisters and one brother. He attended and graduated from Forest City Community Schools. While in school he was on the football team and was a member of the FFA. While in the FFA he earned the Dekalb award. After graduating he started farming west of Forest City and did so until he was drafted into the Army around 1963. He was sent to Korea for his service of 2 years. Upon returning to the states he was an MP until his discharge.
He married Mardell Lawson in June 1966 after being discharged from the army. They had met prior to his being drafted and continued to write letters to each other throughout his tour of duty. He started farming again after his return and also worked for Goldy Knapper at his gas station. Shortly after, he also became a sub and part time rural mail carrier out of the Forest City Office. Around 1970 he quit working for Goldy and purchased 2 gas stations of his own which are now the current locations of K-way and Goldy"s stations. He ran these stations for several years until purchasing a farm by Pilot Knob Lutheran Church at which time he sold the stations to Goldy.
Richard and Mardell had 3 children together.
In 1979 Richard and Mardell divorced, Richard continued to farm until 1980 until selling the farm. All through this time he continued to haul mail and became a full time mail carrier in 1983 at Forest City. He later transferred to a larger mail route on the south shore of Clear Lake, Ia. He continued to haul mail out of Clear Lake until he retired from the Post Office in 1997. While hauling mail he earned the 30 year pin for no accidents while on the mail route. This was something he was very proud of as few achieve this.
Throughout his life he loved to repair and work with tractors and continued to do so after retiring. He started to collect a few old Farmall Tractors and work on them. He collected some stamps, coins, and antiques, many which related to his tractors and farming. He also loved to go fishing and took several trips over the years to do so.
Richard, throughout his life was also there to help others whether it was a family member or friend. He continued to do this even after retirement and becoming ill by donating to several charities over the years. He would donate to the Paralyzed Veterans and VFW to name a couple. Richard continued to dream about returning to farming or owning a resort up in northern Minnesota but never did, but continued to enjoy his other hobbies.
Over the last several Years Richard had started to see his health slowly go. He always tried to stay smiling and cheerful and enjoyed company stopping by to have some coffee and visit. He enjoyed watching his grandchildren grow over the years and especially when they came to visit. When visiting with him he may tell you the latest Ole and Lena joke he had heard or see if you knew any new ones. He loved to talk about the past and things that happened in his life. Especially the times that meant the most to him. It may have been about cars that he had had or experiences he had while farming.
Richard is survived by 2 sons: Allan Anderson of Leland, IA and Carl Anderson of Forest City, IA: two grandchildren, Allan Anderson Jr and Cassandra Anderson, both of Leland, IA: five sisters: Bonna Kraft of Circle Pines, MN, Rowene Toomer of Zimmerman, MN, Judy Thompson of Lake Park, MN, Norma Webb of Homestead, FL, and Twyla Wentworth of Tacoma, WA as well as many extended relatives and friends. Richard is preceded in death by his parents, Reuben and Thona Anderson, son Kenneth Richard Anderson, brother Howard Johnson and sister Helen Anderson.