Grace Adeline Anderson

Grace Adeline Anderson, 105, died August 26, 2019. She had lived independently for 36 years at the Mennonite Village and the last three years in assisted living at Quail Run. She was the oldest and longest-term resident of the Village.

Grace was born January 3, 1914, in Albany at the home of her parents, Katie and Harley Burck. The third of eight children, she grew up working hard - picking strawberries and doing daily chores - on her parents’ farm. She attended Clover Ridge School. At the age of 14, she moved into town to work at Fortmiller Funeral Home and live with the Fortmillers.

As a young woman, she audited classes at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, while living with her younger sister, Viola.

She married Edwin J. Anderson on March 26, 1943, in Anniston, Alabama. While Edwin was in the service, Grace lived with Mrs. Williams in Anniston. Their son, David, was born in Lebanon, Oregon.

After his military service, Edwin graduated with a library degree in Denver. The family then moved to Washington, D.C., for Edwin’s job at the Library of Congress. They later moved to Maryland where their daughter, Barbara, was born.

In 1967, they moved to Portland. Edwin died in 1968. Grace worked in a retirement home in Portland and then moved to Albany, where she worked in a nursing home. In the late 1970s, she worked in an Albany candy store owned by her nephew Don Burck. In 1979, she moved to the Mennonite Village.

Grace traveled extensively in the 1970s and ‘80s. An avid fan of the Trail Blazers, she attended her first Blazer game at the age of 101 and was feted at halftime. She accompanied her nephew Wayne Burck to numerous Beaver games. In her late 90s, Grace fulfilled a desire to go up in a hot air balloon.

A proficient knitter, Grace made hundreds of caps for veterans and for Mennonite Central Committee refugee programs, and dozens of baby blankets for grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. She loved doing crossword puzzles and Word Jumbles.

For her 100th birthday party, 58 people gathered from across the country.

She was a longtime member of St. Alban's Episcopal Church.

Grace was the last living sibling in her family. Survivors include her son David, and his wife, Mary Anne, of Atlanta, Georgia; daughter Barbara and her husband, Danny Bystrak, of Lothian, Maryland; grandchildren David Anderson Jr., Carolyn Moise, and Laura Anderson; five great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Albany on Saturday, September 14, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. 

Memorial gifts may be made to Samaritan Evergreen Hospice in Albany and SafeHaven Humane Society in Tangent.

AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling the arrangements (www.aasum-dufour.com).

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