Geraldine
Geraldine Anderson
d. May 21, 2012
Gerrie Anderson, 89, of Battle Lake died Monday, May 21, 2012 at Lake Region Hospital in Fergus Falls.
Funeral services will be at First Lutheran Church in Battle Lake at 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 9 with Pastor Jake Dyrhaug officiating. Visitation will begin at noon.
Geraldine (Gerrie) Sparrow was born Sept. 6, 1922 in Grand Forks, ND. She was the daughter of W.H. (Harry) and Leah Stiles Sparrow.
The family lived in the North Dakota towns of Northwood, Lone Tree, Berthold, Fargo and Dwight.
Gerrie graduated from Wahpeton High School in 1938 (at the age of 15). She received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, in 1942. After her graduation, she worked on newspapers in Cooperstown ND and Carrington ND for a short time, then edited the Lidgerwood ND Monitor for two years.
During World War II, she served for two years as an officer with the WAVES in Washington D.C. Her duties there consisted of writing aircraft ordinance training manuals for the Navy. After her discharge, she was employed as a reporter for the Valley City ND Times-Record from 1945-47. She also edited a weekly farm page while there and wrote a weekly column entitled "The Boid Peeps".
On Nov. 22, 1947 she was married to Kenneth Anderson of Valley City. The wedding took place at Faith Lutheran Church in Dwight ND. From the day they took vows, they not only committed their lives to each other in marriage, but they also went into business together, where they worked side-by-side for over 40 years as publishers of weekly newspapers.
The newlyweds attended the printing department of the State School of Science in Wahpeton, concentrating on learning "back shop" techniques such as setting type by hand and operating the then-popular Linotype machines. In 1949 they purchased their first newspaper, the Review in Battle Lake MN.
The Andersons moved from Battle Lake to Barnesville MN in 1953. They published the Barnesville Record-Review until 1966, when they purchased the Cottonwood County Citizen in Windom MN.
They sold the Citizen to their eldest son, Kim, in 1991.
Throughout their journalism years, Gerrie was best known for her popular "My Say" columns that ran every week in the Citizen, as well as the Review and Record-Review. Her columns were generally humorous snippets from everyday life filled with stories about "Pops," her children, grandchildren, fads and day-to-day occurrences that happen in the average household. It won many state honors and even a few national awards. After her retirement, the column continued to appear monthly in the Citizen. In 1999 several of her columns were compiled into a paperback book of the same name.
In 1988 Ken and Gerrie retired and built a home on East Battle Lake, where Gerrie relished the beauty and serenity of the surroundings.
The couple spent winter months in Sun City West AZ from 1989 until 2005. They sold their home there and returned to East Battle Lake where they lived year-around. Gerrie truly loved Minnesota winters.
Gerrie valued communicating with friends via email, spending time with her husband and family, and fishing off the end of the dock enjoying the solitude. She treasured participating in First Lutheran Church of Battle Lake and being a part of its membership.
She was a member of the ladies' golf group at Balmoral Golf Course near Battle Lake, the Progressive Club, and served on the church council.
Gerrie was a beacon of light for her family and numerous friends. Her ever-present smile and hearty chuckle were infectious. She performed a song, "My Pa He Came From Texas" at the age of 84 at Ken and Gerrie's 60th wedding anniversary celebration in 2007.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of three children: Kim (Terry) Anderson of Windom MN, Kirk (Meri) Anderson of Burnsville MN and Robyn (Stan) Kitson of Verona WI. There are eight grandchildren: Jason Anderson of Fergus Falls, Tera Anderson of Phoenix AZ, Trevor (Katie) Slette and Brent Anderson of Windom, Andy, Rob and Danny Kitson of Verona and Alyssa Anderson of Burnsville. She left four great grandchildren: Connor and Cullen (Trevor) Slette and Adley and Tilden (Brent) Anderson of Windom. She is also survived by a brother, Jon (Diane) Sparrow of Osage IA. Gerrie was preceded in death by her sister Pat and her parents.
During the last 10 years of her life, Gerrie suffered from macular degeneration. She hoped they would find a cure for this debilitating condition during her lifetime, or in the near future. She died with hope that they will.
Memorials not designated will be donated to Macular Degeneration Research.
Funeral Services: 1 PM, Saturday, June 9, at First Lutheran Church, Battle Lake
Visitation: one hour prior to the service at the church
Clergy: Rev. Jake Dyrhaug
Cemetery: First Lutheran Cemetery, Battle Lake
Funeral Home: Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Battle Lake
Condolences: www.GlendeNilson.com
Funeral services will be at First Lutheran Church in Battle Lake at 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 9 with Pastor Jake Dyrhaug officiating. Visitation will begin at noon.
Geraldine (Gerrie) Sparrow was born Sept. 6, 1922 in Grand Forks, ND. She was the daughter of W.H. (Harry) and Leah Stiles Sparrow.
The family lived in the North Dakota towns of Northwood, Lone Tree, Berthold, Fargo and Dwight.
Gerrie graduated from Wahpeton High School in 1938 (at the age of 15). She received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, in 1942. After her graduation, she worked on newspapers in Cooperstown ND and Carrington ND for a short time, then edited the Lidgerwood ND Monitor for two years.
During World War II, she served for two years as an officer with the WAVES in Washington D.C. Her duties there consisted of writing aircraft ordinance training manuals for the Navy. After her discharge, she was employed as a reporter for the Valley City ND Times-Record from 1945-47. She also edited a weekly farm page while there and wrote a weekly column entitled "The Boid Peeps".
On Nov. 22, 1947 she was married to Kenneth Anderson of Valley City. The wedding took place at Faith Lutheran Church in Dwight ND. From the day they took vows, they not only committed their lives to each other in marriage, but they also went into business together, where they worked side-by-side for over 40 years as publishers of weekly newspapers.
The newlyweds attended the printing department of the State School of Science in Wahpeton, concentrating on learning "back shop" techniques such as setting type by hand and operating the then-popular Linotype machines. In 1949 they purchased their first newspaper, the Review in Battle Lake MN.
The Andersons moved from Battle Lake to Barnesville MN in 1953. They published the Barnesville Record-Review until 1966, when they purchased the Cottonwood County Citizen in Windom MN.
They sold the Citizen to their eldest son, Kim, in 1991.
Throughout their journalism years, Gerrie was best known for her popular "My Say" columns that ran every week in the Citizen, as well as the Review and Record-Review. Her columns were generally humorous snippets from everyday life filled with stories about "Pops," her children, grandchildren, fads and day-to-day occurrences that happen in the average household. It won many state honors and even a few national awards. After her retirement, the column continued to appear monthly in the Citizen. In 1999 several of her columns were compiled into a paperback book of the same name.
In 1988 Ken and Gerrie retired and built a home on East Battle Lake, where Gerrie relished the beauty and serenity of the surroundings.
The couple spent winter months in Sun City West AZ from 1989 until 2005. They sold their home there and returned to East Battle Lake where they lived year-around. Gerrie truly loved Minnesota winters.
Gerrie valued communicating with friends via email, spending time with her husband and family, and fishing off the end of the dock enjoying the solitude. She treasured participating in First Lutheran Church of Battle Lake and being a part of its membership.
She was a member of the ladies' golf group at Balmoral Golf Course near Battle Lake, the Progressive Club, and served on the church council.
Gerrie was a beacon of light for her family and numerous friends. Her ever-present smile and hearty chuckle were infectious. She performed a song, "My Pa He Came From Texas" at the age of 84 at Ken and Gerrie's 60th wedding anniversary celebration in 2007.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are the parents of three children: Kim (Terry) Anderson of Windom MN, Kirk (Meri) Anderson of Burnsville MN and Robyn (Stan) Kitson of Verona WI. There are eight grandchildren: Jason Anderson of Fergus Falls, Tera Anderson of Phoenix AZ, Trevor (Katie) Slette and Brent Anderson of Windom, Andy, Rob and Danny Kitson of Verona and Alyssa Anderson of Burnsville. She left four great grandchildren: Connor and Cullen (Trevor) Slette and Adley and Tilden (Brent) Anderson of Windom. She is also survived by a brother, Jon (Diane) Sparrow of Osage IA. Gerrie was preceded in death by her sister Pat and her parents.
During the last 10 years of her life, Gerrie suffered from macular degeneration. She hoped they would find a cure for this debilitating condition during her lifetime, or in the near future. She died with hope that they will.
Memorials not designated will be donated to Macular Degeneration Research.
Funeral Services: 1 PM, Saturday, June 9, at First Lutheran Church, Battle Lake
Visitation: one hour prior to the service at the church
Clergy: Rev. Jake Dyrhaug
Cemetery: First Lutheran Cemetery, Battle Lake
Funeral Home: Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Battle Lake
Condolences: www.GlendeNilson.com
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