Donald Anderson

Donald E. Anderson, from Crystal Lake Illinois, passed away November 2, 2020 at the age of 89   He was born on March 5th, 1931 in Moline IL to Floyd and Amy Forber Anderson.

He is survived by his daughter, Amy (William) Moerschbaecher, of McHenry, IL; son, Kerry (Jill) Anderson, of Lake Ozark, MO; grandchildren  Shannon Moerschbaecher, Maggie (Nick) Wymore, Eric (Hannah) Anderson, Whitney Anderson, and Emily Anderson; great grandchildren, Talyn and Olivia Anderson, Brayden and Brynlee Wymore, and Michael and James Kelly.

Don was preceded in death by his wife Marian, his brother Floyd and his step-brother, Lauren.

He moved with his family and started working at the family’s implement store in Sherrard, IL. Soon after, Don went into the Air Force during the Korean War as an airplane mechanic. When he returned home, he met Marian and soon after were married in the little town of Preemption, IL. Don enrolled in Emery Riddle Flight School and lived with Marian in Miami Springs Florida until he graduated. While there, they had a son and daughter. After graduation he was hired by Eastern Airlines. Other positions were with Deans Foods as a corporate pilot and then the rest of his career with American Airlines as a flight engineer until his retirement. Don was involved with the local fishing club, he was a Masonic member, and a regular attendee at First Methodist Church in Crystal Lake. He would get together regularly to have breakfast or lunch with his airline buddies and then would either golf with them or to go to a private airport and hanger to tinker with various airplanes.

Don lived a full life with family and friends.  It’s amazing that by watching Dad, we learned more than we thought we would and we were not afraid to learn new things. He also let us make mistakes. These same attributes have been passed down to his grandchildren. We went through pictures and found that either there were pictures of the many places both Mom and Dad traveled but also that Dad caught lots of fish. Fresh water, salt water, big, small. As a matter of fact, most of the pictures were of him holding some kind of fish. Dad loved his family, friends, his grandkids and great grand children. Don loved outdoor activities. Fishing, hunting, boating, golfing, swimming, scuba diving, flying his airplane and water skiing. In fact, he water skied at age 75! Both Mom and Dad loved the Florida Keys and spent their winters after retirement there. Don will be remembered fondly.

Services will be held privately.

Memorial donations in Don’s name can be made to a charity of your choice.