David J. Anderson

David John Anderson was born in Watertown, Minnesota on December 26, 1943 to Gordon and Valerie Anderson. His father passed away a couple of months before he was five. Dave, his sister Diane, and his mom lived with his maternal grandparents, Charles and Anne Maas, on their farm near Delano, Minnesota. He was blessed by also living and growing up on the farm with his two uncles who were close to him in age, Leon and Russ. He considered them as his brothers. He absolutely loved life on the farm with his extended family, the woods, the creek, the natural spring, the hunting, fishing, fields and everything about life on the farm. He remained forever close to the people who loved and cared for him in his youth, and was devoted to his mom, his grandparents, and his “brothers” throughout their lives.

He graduated from St. Peter’s Catholic Grade School, Delano Public High School, and the University of Minnesota where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. He loved and cherished his religious faith, his steadfast devotion to Mary, and he credited many of the lessons he learned about teamwork at St. Peter’s and Delano High School, to the success he later enjoyed in corporate life.

After working his way through college at First National Bank as a Customer Service Rep. and an Auditor, he joined Fingerhut in Gaylord, Minnesota as Human Resource Manager for the company’s Southern Region which included manufacturing plants and offices in Mankato, Windom, Bird Island, and Gaylord, Minnesota. He was promoted a year and a half later to Human Resource Manager, St. Cloud, Minnesota, which was the company’s largest facility with 2000 employees.

Three years later, he was recruited and joined International Multifoods as Human Resource Manager of their King Food Division in Newport, Minnesota. Within a few years, he was promoted from the smallest of Multifood’s six divisions to the largest division. Here he had Human Resources and Labor Relations responsibility for the company’s flour mills and bakery mix plants in Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, and Iowa. Within a couple of years, he was promoted to Marketing Director of the Bakery Mix Division, where he had profit and loss responsibility for $100 million in sales. Dave worked for Multifoods for eleven years until he was recruited and accepted a position as Corporate Vice President of Human Resources for Tonka Corporation.

At Tonka, he had worldwide responsibilities for Human Resources at all locations in the United States, France, Germany, Hong Kong, London, Australia, and Mexico. He served as Vice President of Human Resources for four years. He was then promoted to Vice President of Administration for Tonka. In this position, he continued with responsibility for Human Resources and added the responsibilities for the Legal Department, and Risk Insurance. He worked for Tonka for eleven years, until they were acquired.

He then joined Aspen Medical Group as their Vice President, Human Resources. In this position, he had responsibility for eight medical clinics, hundreds of physicians, and approximately 1000 employees. Eight years later he retired in 2006 at the age of 62.

He was blessed with many mentors that made a significant difference in his life: Duane Glad at First National Bank, Dean Reep at the King Food Division of Multifoods, Bob Howard, General Manager of the Industrial Foods Division, Multifoods; Jerry Mattson and Jerry Santers, Directors of Industrial Relations and Corporate Benefits respectively at Multifoods.

Dave believed very strongly in giving back to his community and helping the less fortunate. He was very active in United Way Campaigns, serving as a Loaned Executive for a number of years, and serving as chairman for various company campaigns. He served as an Advisor and was on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Minnesota and the advisory board of Children’s Miracle Network. He organized the first annual Toy Drive for children at Christmas in conjunctions with the Marines, organized annual caravans to area children’s hospitals, volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, delivered Meals On Wheels to seniors for years, and was a volunteer for Feed My Starving Children. He was proud of organizing and chairing construction of the Tonka Family Yard at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, a playground for children with disabilities. He was presented with a plaque by President Reagan in ceremonies at the White House honoring the company for Outstanding Private Sector Initiatives.

He was devoted to his two children, Brett and Dawn. He absolutely loved being a grandfather to their five children, which he classified as being “one of the best experiences of his life.” This was clearly one of his favorite roles, and he loved to tell stories about his grandchildren. He was also very close to his nieces and nephews.

His other favorite role was as husband to his “best friend” and wife, Mickey. They went through life holding hands, taking care of one another, deeply in love, and were inseparable. They were married for 38 years. Many young people told Mickey and Dave that their love served as a model for what they hoped to have in their lives.

He thoroughly enjoyed retirement and laughed often about his adjustment period which he said, “took him one or two days.” He enjoyed spending time with his friends, traveling to new destinations, the stock market, and life in general. He had a sunny disposition, a quick smile, and a good sense of humor. Dave was loyal to his friends and family, respected and respectful, and was a genuinely nice human being. He had a warm and big heart, and a gentle soul, which he credited to God, his mom, and maternal grandparents who raised him.

He is survived by his devoted wife Mickey, son Brett (Stephanie) Anderson, daughter Dawn (David) Cotterman, sister Diane (Robin) Mechelke, grandchildren: Audrey and Sophie Anderson; Bennett, Josephine, and William Cotterman.

Mass of Christian Burial 11 am Friday, January 16th at St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Peter's campus, 217 Second St. S, Delano, with visitation in St. Martha's Hall from 9-11, burial immediately following and a luncheon in Handzel Hall, St Joseph's campus, 401 River St. N., Delano after burial.