Susan K. Anderson

An informal Memorial gathering of Friends and Family will be held from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at the Daniel Funeral Home in St. Cloud, MN for Susan Anderson. She died on July 30 at her home in St. Cloud, where she was cared for by family and hospice.

Susan Kay Jackson was born on May 16, 1941 to Harold and Martha (Emmons) Jackson in Fargo, North Dakota. Upon her father’s death when she was six, she, her mother, and two older sisters lived with her maternal grandparents until her mother remarried.

Susan is a graduate of Fargo Central High School and North Dakota State University. On December 27, 1963 she accepted Bruce Anderson as her husband, making him the world’s most happy fellow. The couple made their early home in southern California where Susan taught English and Physical Education and coached the cheerleading team at Dale Junior High. When graduate studies took them to Illinois three years later, she became a personal coach to a budding gymnast. Their subsequent move to Minnetonka coincided with starting their family, at which time she gave up her teaching and coaching careers to concentrate on what became a career of wise parenting and active volunteer service.

From the time of their move to Sartell, Susan accepted any role that would help the community, her sons’ schools, or her church. While she preferred to work behind the scenes, others knew that she could be called upon to serve in many roles. Her volunteer work was driven by her belief in serving others in any way that she could.

If a friend asked, she was a ready volunteer – whether for the Lemonade Art Fair, May Bowle, Sartell Singers, or placing the lilies for the sunrise service at First Presbyterian – in any capacity needed. Susan was deeply involved in the United Way, first by chairing the Special Events Committee for several years, then by joining the Board of Directors where she took an active role on several committees that assured the community’s gifts were directed to best meeting community needs.

She gave many hours to activities in her sons’ schools, volunteering for many years as a Junior Great Novels teacher in Sartell, helping to organize fundraisers for the band, and providing early leadership in the community’s drug prevention process. School service carried over to her older son’s years at St. John’s Prep where she spent many days as ‘mom of the day’ working with staff and students.

In her leisure time, Susan had enjoyed bowling in the local Sartell league, a sport in which she participated at NDSU as a member of a national championship team. She migrated away from bowling when, at the urging of her husband, she picked up a tennis racket in her mid-30s. He will attest that she quickly exceeded his abilities, going on to become a most competitive player while fostering many fond friendships with other players. These friendships and, among others, those with her Sartell study group gave her great pleasure.

An active sketch artist and tole painter, she was called upon by various local organizations to develop illustrations for posters, t-shirts, and other items to promote their activities. When the couple moved to Colorado in 2002, Susan took to painting miniatures, but also turned her talents to the art of bead weaving, designing and making woven beaded jewelry. Creating these complex three- dimensional items was a new challenge which she mastered to the delight of the Loveland Artists Guild.

Susan and her husband moved to a lake home near Akeley, Minnesota in 2009 before returning to St. Cloud in 2017.

Susan was above all a dedicated mother to her sons and amazing life partner for her husband, enjoying travel, hiking, boating, theatre, maintaining her flower gardens, and caring for the family’s many pets. She gave family and friends, particularly young friends, so many valuable lessons and will be so greatly missed.

Susan is survived by her husband Bruce of St. Cloud; sons Jeffrey of Portland, OR and Corey (Erika) of St. Cloud; sister Mari Coen of Loveland, CO, and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Judith, and son Eric Bruce.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the Tri-County Humane Society of St. Cloud or the Marison Project of Estes Park, Colorado (marisonproject.org). The Tri-County Humane Society supports Central MN by practicing and promoting quality adoption services and education programs. The Marison Project’s mission is to provide nutritious, high quality food and clean, easily accessible water to those in need.

Either organization reflects Susan’s passion of making a difference in the world. She understood Burke’s statement that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (or women) should do nothing.”

Susan’s cremated remains will be placed at the grave of the couple’s son, Eric, at Oak Hill Cemetery Sartell.