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Dec. 28, 1947-Jan. 28, 2021
Debbie was born on De-
cember 28, 1947 in St.
Paul, MN to Tony and
Marie Bartsch. She passed
away from Alzheimer's on
January 28th, 2021 at 73
years old surrounded by
her loving family. She
was the first of four chil-
dren. Debbie grew up on a
farmstead near Esmond,
ND, then moved to Ren-
ton, Washington. At the
age of 15, her family re-
turned to Esmond, North
Dakota. There she met
her, True North, Les
Anderson. They were
married for 52 years.
During their time in Es-
mond, Les was given a lot
of advice on how to get
noticed by the "new girl"
in town. A close cousin
told Les that if he wants
to win Debbie's heart he
needs to learn how to
dance. He took his
cousin's advice and they
have been happily danc-
ing for the last 52 years.
Debbie touched the
lives of everyone she met.
She devoted her life to her
2 daughters and 6
grandchildren. She sup-
ported everything they
wanted to do and was
their biggest cheerleader.
Debbie made everyone
feel special and loved in
her own way. Debbie also
had a special bond with
her 3 sisters. They were
very blessed to be able to
go on yearly sister trips
that always included food,
shopping, laughter, ad-
ventures and lots of love.
Debbie did everything
right with a very healthy
life style. She was highly
educated, lived with a
healthy diet, exercised
regularly, drank in
moderation and was so-
cially active. She had
many great friends and a
loving family. Alzheimer's
takes a healthy person
and destroys their life.
Debbie was an educator
in the Minot Public
Schools for 32 years. Dur-
ing her time as an educa-
tor she worked in the Ti-
tle 1 Reading Program and
was the District Coordina-tor for a number of years
until she retired in 2002.
She was selected as the
first Title 1 Teacher of the
Year by the state of North
Dakota and the Depart-
ment of Public Instruc-
tion. She was an advocate
for reading programs and
made presentations at the
local, state and national
levels.
In addition to her work
as an educator, she volun-
teered with her husband
and helped form the
North Dakota Association
of Student Activities, a
501(c)(3) non-profit organ-
ization which includes
Student Council and Na-
tional Honor Society at
the High School and Mid-
dle School levels. With
Debbie's leadership and
support, the organization
grew from one state
conference to three
conferences with over
2,500 students attending
each year. She worked
with the 15 state officers
and was like a second
mother to many of the
students. In her 41 years
of involvement, she trav-
eled with and supervised
students in almost every
major city in the country.
Debbie was a member
of Our Lady of Grace
Catholic Church where
she taught C.C.D.
She especially enjoyed
traveling, exercising, hik-
ing, biking, golfing and
entertaining family and
friends.
The family expresses
their gratitude to Leslie's
sister, Judy Wilkerson,
who helped care for Deb-
bie at home until she was
moved to a skilled nurs-
ing facility. The family
would also like to say
they are forever grateful to
the staff at the Trinity
Nursing Home for the
wonderful care they pro-
vided for Debbie. They
truly became part of
Debbie's family.
Debbie is preceded in
death by her parents,
Tony and Marie Bartsch.
She is survived by her
husband: Les Anderson;
daughters: Jessica (Thor)
Nelson of Minot and Jen-
nifer (Josh) Noteboom of
Olathe, Kansas; grandchil-dren: Hannah Nelson,
Thor Nelson II, Odin Nel-
son, Rhone Nelson, Emma
Noteboom and Olivia
Noteboom; sisters: Barb
Marthe', Toni (Bruce)
Keating & Cindy (Dan)
Zink; sister-in law: Judy
Wilkerson, brothers in
law: Bernard (Marilyn)
Anderson and Lee Ander-
son and several nieces,
nephews and cousins.
Public Visitation: Mon-
day, February 1, 2021
from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00
p.m. in Thomas Family
Funeral Home, 304 South
Main Street, Minot. Fami-
ly will be in attendance.
Public Mass of Chris-
tian Burial: Tuesday,
February 2, 2021 at 2:30
p.m. in Our Lady of Grace
Catholic Church – Minot.
Please be aware that seat-
ing is limited due to
current capacity restric-
tions. A Livestream and
recording of the service is
available by using the link
in the website obituary.
Public Celebration of
Life Gathering for family
and friends: February 2
from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00
p.m. at Elevation – 1912
Valley Bluff, Minot.
In lieu of plants and
flowers memorials are
preferred to NDSAA –
Debbie Anderson Memori-al, 125 Slate Drive Suite 7,
Bismarck, ND 58503
Memories and con-
dolences may be shared at
www.thomasfamily
funeralhome.com.