Judith Anderson

Judy Marie Anderson, age 78, passed away on Monday, June 12 at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. A celebration of life service will be Saturday, July 8 at Grace Lutheran Church in Sisseton, SD, with Kirk Snaza officiating. Visitation will start at 9 a.m. with a service at 10 a.m. followed by a light lunch.

Judith Marie (Newell) Anderson was born October 26, 1944, in Berkeley, California, to parents Horace Dean Newell and Edith Marie (Potter) Newell. She joined one older brother, Gary Newell. In 1945, the family moved back to Kansas to be near paternal and maternal family. Gary and Judy spent their childhood on the farm, where Judy loved to ride horses, take piano and violin lessons, participate in Girl Scouts, and spend time with family and friends. During high school, Judy was a cheerleader for basketball and football, and she was crowned Homecoming Queen her senior year. She graduated from Wakefield High School in 1962. After graduation, she and her cousin Linda went by train and spent the summer in Washington, D.C. at her aunt's house. She attended and later graduated from Clark's Business School in Topeka, Kansas, and worked at the Kansas Attorney General's office. In 1964 she moved to Virginia with Darryl and Linda Griffing and worked in Breckenridge Library on the Quantico Marine Base for six months until her return to Topeka, Kansas, where she was a secretary to Governor Bill Averey's office staff.

After Judy's parents and brother Gary moved to the Rosholt, South Dakota area, on a trip to visit her family, Judy met Lynn Peterson. The couple married in St. Joseph's Lutheran Church on October 29, 1966, and moved to the Veblen area to ranch with Lynn's parents where they lived for a couple of years. Then, the couple moved to Arizona on a doctor's recommendation that it was the best place for Lynn's asthma. After a visit with family in South Dakota, Lynn suffered an asthma attack in Kansas during their return trip to Arizona, and Lynn passed away on May 13, 1969. Judy was pregnant at the time and moved to her parents' farm near Rosholt, and Paige Marie Peterson (Anderson/Riehl) was born in October 1969.

Judy met James (Jim) Anderson in 1971 on a blind date in Sisseton, SD, at the VFW, and the couple married March 30, 1973, in Aberdeen, SD, with Don and Sammy Linhard (Lynn's sister) standing up for them. Jim adopted Paige, and the couple had a son—Joseph James Anderson—in November 1975. Jim and Judy built a house south of Rosholt on 11 acres where they raised cattle, pigs, sheep, and chickens and enjoyed the company of cats and dogs. Judy cared for their children and the farm animals while Jim worked road construction during the 1970s-80s. Judy was an active member of St. Joseph's Lutheran Church where she played organ, and helped with the youth group, summer Bible School, and more. For many years beginning in the late 1980s, she worked at Whetstone Propane, doing recordkeeping and bookwork. Jim and Judy lived on the farm for about 23 years and then sold the farm to their son Joe and daughter-in-law Holly.

In 2000, Jim and Judy, along with their beloved cat Domino, moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where the warm weather was easier on Judy's circulation. They were active in church and Christian communities in Las Vegas, helping numerous couples by offering free marriage classes. For 23 years, Judy and Jim enjoyed hosting family and friends in Las Vegas, and they returned every summer to visit their children and friends in South Dakota and Minnesota. Judy's deep and enduring faith and love of Jesus was a guide throughout her life and provided comfort during her struggles with lung cancer during the last three and a half years. Judy and Jim were in the Midwest to attend the high school graduations of two of their grandchildren—Averee Anderson and Aidan Riehl—and to visit friends and family when Judy's health deteriorated, and she went to the hospital. Judy and Jim celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in March of this year.

Judy is survived by her husband Jim Anderson (Las Vegas, NV); her children Paige and Damien Riehl (St. Paul, MN) and Joe and Holly Anderson (Rosholt, SD); her grandchildren Aidan and KaYoon Riehl and Trevor and Averee Anderson; and her brother Gary Newell and his wife Gloria (Boise, ID). She is preceded in death by her parents Dean and Edie Newell, her late husband Lynn Peterson, and her parents-in-law Clayton and Alice Anderson and Mick and Evelyn Peterson.

Memorials in Judy's name can be made to the American Cancer Society at https://donate.cancer.org/.

Online condolences can be made at the Eggers Funeral Home site https://www.eggersfh.com/.