Rodney Anderson

Rodney Anderson, 83, a

local farmer and longtime

Williston resident, passed

away in his home on June

20, 2021, surrounded by

his family.

His Funeral Service

will be held at 11:00 AM

on Thursday, June 24,

2021, at First Lutheran

Church in Williston. Rev.

Jeanne Madsen will offici-ate. Interment, with mili-

tary rites, will be held at

3:00 PM at Bethel

Cemetery, Wildrose, ND.

Friends may call at

Everson-Coughlin Funeral

Home in Williston on

Wednesday, June 23, from

9:00 AM until 6:00 PM

and for the hour preced-

ing the service at the

church on Thursday.

Rodney Duane Ander-

son was born in Powers

Lake, ND on January 18,

1938, to Leland Anderson

and Evelyn (Sundhagen)

Anderson, and was raised

on the family farm south

of Wildrose. He graduated

from Wildrose High

School in 1956 and at-

tended NDSU Bottineau

after being recruited for

basketball, and then

Minot State University,

where he met his wife of

60 years, Sharon (Skar-

stad) Anderson. Rodney

served in the US Army

from 1958-1960, assigned

to the 7th Army Training

Center in Vilseck, Ger-

many, and returned to set-

tle in Williston, where he

and Sharon built their life

together.

Rodney worked in the

accounting department at

Montana Dakota Utilities

for thirty four years, in-

cluding 1965-1968 in

Wolf Point, Montana. He

also had a long career as a

farmer, raising spring

wheat and durum on the

family farm, and as a

basketball official from

the early 1960s into the

1980s, refereeing hun-

dreds of games across

western North Dakota and

eastern Montana. During

the oil boom in the late

1970s he was a founding

partner and president of

AMCO Enterprises, a

mineral services com-

pany. After retiring from

MDU he also enjoyed

working as a landman at

Diamond Resources for

several years.

Rodney enjoyed active-

ly participating in sport-

ing and community life.

As a young man he

rodeoed, played city

league basketball and

church league softball,

and attended Coyote and

Teton sporting events. In

his thirties and through

middle age he served in

numerous community ser-

vice roles. He was a

member of the Elks Club,

the Lions Club, the Willis-

ton Chamber of Com-

merce, and was president

of the Williston United

Way Campaign in 1975.

For several years he

served as treasurer of the

District 1 Republican Par-

ty, and for nine years

served on the Mercy Hos-

pital board of directors,

including one as

president. He was particu-larly proud to be chosen

as a commencement

speaker at Wildrose High

School. He was an active

member of First Lutheran

Church for nearly six de-

cades.

Throughout his life

Rodney was sociable,

smart, and thoughtful. He

loved to read, particularly

in the winter months. He

liked people and had a

talent for friendship. He

took pride in his family,

his Norwegian roots and

many relatives, and he

loved Williston and North

Dakota. In later years he

was an attentive and dot-

ing grandfather and

father-in law, and a regu-

lar participant at coffee

groups around town. He

had friends wherever he

went.

Rodney was preceded

in death by his parents.

He is survived by his wife

of 60 years, Sharon

Anderson; his sons, Lt.

Col.(ret) Duane Anderson

(Laura) of Annapolis,

Maryland and Dr. Todd

Anderson of Springfield,

Missouri; his grandsons

Wyatt Anderson of Nash-

ville, Tennessee, Sam

Anderson of Washington,

DC, and Luke Anderson of

Madison, Wisconsin;

numerous cousins; and

many lifelong friends.

In lieu of flowers,

please direct memorials to

the St. Jude Children’s

Research Hospital, PO

Box 50 Memphis, TN

38101-9929. Friends are

welcome to visit www.

eversoncoughlin.com to

share memories of Rod-

ney or leave condolences

for his family.