Roy Arnold Anderson Jr.

Roy Arnold Anderson Jr. passed away peacefully in his wife’s arms on June 4, 2019, after a brief and relatively painless bout with cancer.

His Memorial Celebration will be held on Sunday, June 30, 2019, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the CAVU Winery at 175 E. Aeronca Ave. near the Walla Walla Airport.  Everyone who knew him is welcome to attend.  In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to Center at the Park (WW Senior Center), 720 Sprague Ave, Walla Walla, WA.

Roy was born on August 30, 1941, to Roy Anderson Sr. and Erminia (Ross) Anderson in Lima, Peru, where his father worked as a mining geologist.  He moved to the United States in 1954 and graduated from high school in Metaline Falls, Washington in 1959.  He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Gonzaga University in 1963, and then spent five years in the Air Force.  His first assignment was in Oxnard, California, where he met and married Joyce (Lemon) Anderson in 1967.  They spent the first three months of their marriage living in the back of a Dodge truck on a rollicking road trip across the United States travelling to his next military assignment in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Then, in 1968, Roy was honorably discharged as an Air Force Captain and, once again, the couple hopped back in that truck and took another rambling road trip to Moscow, Idaho, where Roy got his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1969.

After graduation, Roy went to work for the Corps of Engineers, where he stayed for 25 years, working on projects such as the Ice Harbor Dam and the Spring Creek Fish Hatchery.  During that time, he also pursued many other obsessions including: fishing, biking, jogging, remote control glider flying, and coaching soccer for his two sons, Charlie and Andy.  He also later went on to become the Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach for Wlla Walla High School, Walla Walla Community College and Whitman College, under Coach Santos Garcia.  For many years he coached children soccer through Parks and Recreation.

Once Roy retired from the Corps, life became an art form.  He began taking water color classes from his wife, Joyce, an accomplished painter and teacher.  Watercolors became a great love that they both shared.  Soon, Roy began to win awards for his paintings (conquering his near-sightedness, color blindness, detached retinas, and macular degeneration).  He painted and painted and painted and, while he waited for the paint to dry, he would play his guitar.  Eventually, he began teaching guitar classes, and then ukulele classes.  Roy also painted a portrait of each student.  He had a knack for creating environments where it was okay to make mistakes and learn.  Together, Roy and Joyce helped foster a vast community of supportive and creative people who enjoyed their classes and stayed in touch.  That community is probably their most beautiful work of art.

When not teaching, Roy played background music at the Senior Center (Center at the Park), at gallery art openings, pond and garden events, and fund-raising events.  He didn’t want to be paid.  He just loved to lay the ukulele, guitar, harmonica, and assorted rhythm instruments.  He was a one-man-band.

Sadly, in early May, we found out that he had pancreatic cancer.  We had a precious month to say I love you and goodbye before the cancer took him.  It was horrible and beautiful.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; hi8s two sons, Charlie and Andy and their wives Kitt and Karin; his granddaughters, Kylie and Kacie; and his sister, Inga.

We are so grateful to have had him in our lives and we look forward to celebrating his memory with those who feel the same.