Bruce Larry Anderson of Delano MN died surrounded by love on June 24 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital after a quick but bitter battle with cancer.
Bruce was born on January 21, 1951 in Virginia MN to Ray and Shirley Anderson, the third of five children. In 1969 he graduated from Mountain Iron High School as Chief Red Raider. In 1971 he married Nancy Anderson and had two daughters, Tasha and Amber. They later divorced but remained parents and friends to the end. In 1984 Bruce married Anne Hartley of Eveleth and had two daughters, Maren and Noel. They have been inseparable for almost 39 years. Anne was his constant companion when hunting, fishing, on annual trips to St. Martin, training and breeding dogs, with family and in the summer at the cottage. It was always Bruce and Anne, a package deal.
Bruce would compete with “the most interesting man alive”. He approached everything in life with 100% passion: his family, his career, teaching, dogs, cars and living life to the fullest. Bruce had a brilliant career. He started out as an auto mechanic instructor at the Eveleth Area VoTech School and as a foreman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camps in Duluth and Yankton, SD. He then worked as Operations Manager for the Washington DC office and then to Colorful Colorado where he worked as a Facilities Manager at FCI Englewood. After leaving the office, Bruce discovered a new passion for renovation and environmental sustainability when he joined the Lowry Redevelopment Authority in Aurora, CO. This work took him and his family to San Francisco, where he worked as operations manager for the Presidio when it transitioned to National Park status. He next found a job at Lendlease as a development manager. Lendlease brought Bruce and Anne to Nashville, Tennessee, where they spent eight years enjoying the Honkey Tonks, Old Hickory Lake with the B Dock crew and living in the country where Bruce’s favorite country music genre was. They eventually returned to Colorado and Bruce retired as Executive General Manager of Development from Lendlease in 2019. Anyone who knew Bruce knows he would never officially retire, and despite his aversion to winter, Bruce and Anne made their way back to Minnesota, where he has worked as a consultant for Lendlease for the past four years.
Bruce made the most of every minute of daylight that was given to him. During high school, he, along with his father and uncle Richard, helped build the family cabin and sauna at Little Lake 14, which the whole family has enjoyed ever since. He spent years breeding, raising, training and hunting over twenty litters of German Wirehaired Pointers. He trained and judged field tests with the Verein Deutsch Wirehaired Pointer (VDD) and the Minnesota and Colorado divisions of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). Over the years, he has become known as the Director of Hunting (“HD”) for the company of pheasant, antelope and deer hunters he has brought to South Dakota every fall for the last 35 years. He was passionate about understanding animals and the land and the importance of protecting land for future generations. Another passion of his was building street rods. Over the years he fully built a 1930 red Chevy pickup, a 1934 Ford coupe and a 1932 5 window Chevy coupe. In his spare time he would help anyone who needed it with carpentry, plumbing, electrical or construction work. There was absolutely nothing he couldn’t do, and if he happened to come across something he didn’t know, he would learn it. His love of life, experience, knowledge and commitment to helping others was exceptional.
Before Bruce died father Ray Anderson, mother Shirley (Peterson) Anderson Charles, sister Carol Anderson, brother Rick Anderson, Shirley’s second husband Jim Charles and father-in-law David Hartley. He is survived by wife Anne of Delano, daughters Tasha (Spike) Carlson of Gilbert, Amber (Tom) Lenhardt of Prior Lake, Maren (Dave) Anderson Sheerer of Prior Lake, and Noel (Wylie) Anderson-Sanchez of Austin, TX, brother Gerry (Cheryl) Anderson of Forest Lake and sister Jackie (Mike) Unrein of Delano, and his beloved grandchildren of whom he was so proud: Tristan and Gracie Makela of Gilbert; Jonas, Riley and Lila Lenhardt of Prior Lake; Hartley Bruce Sheerer of Prior Lake; and Cara Jo, Andrew and Julie Carlson of Superior WI. He leaves behind all whose lives have been improved by meeting Bruce.
A private memorial service will be held for the family on August 13. Afterwards, local friends and family are invited to gather and “raise a glass” to toast Bruce at 4pm at Mac’s Bar in Mt. Iron. In true Bruce fashion, there will be a Celebration of Life party in the Twin Cities on September 9th, welcoming all who know and love him.
Memorials are preferred to Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Pheasants Forever, or an organization you care about.
Bruce’s SISU spirit will live on in all of our hearts. He will forever be missed and loved by us.
