Baker City, Baker County, Oregon
Gayle Lovette Anderson, 64, of Baker City died Jan. 7, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane. Bruce Barfuss will officiate. Interment will be at the Haines Cemetery.
Gayle was born Aug. 25, 1938, at Boone, Iowa, to Carl and Hazel Erickson Anderson. She grew up on a farm at Boone where she was born. Gayle loved her father, Carl, very much and spent a great deal of time riding the tractors and working alongside him.
As a young girl, she pored over copies of National Geographic, dreaming of moving to the gorgeous snow-capped peaks of the mountains of the West Coast.
After completing college at Iowa State at Ames, graduating summa cum laude within three years, she married and realized her dream of moving to the mountains of Oregon. There, she and her husband of 35 years, David, raised two children. These mountains brought Gayle peace and closeness to God and nature.
She spent as much time as possible hiking and photographing the trees, streams, mountain alpine flowers, rocks, and driftwood. She filled her home with these beautiful photos.
She had more photos of them than of her own children, but they knew she loved them dearly. One of her favorite spots to hike was below Hells Canyon Dam. She went there each spring to make her “annual pilgrimage” to see the wildflowers and have a spiritual rejuvenation.
She loved animals and had faithful cats as well as dogs and horses: Shadow, Maya, Buff and Peanut. She also was an avid gardener, raising vegetable gardens and wildflowers and recreating beautiful, naturally landscaped yards.
She was also an excellent cook; one of the family favorites was homemade buttermilk bread that she would make every Christmas and Easter. It should be mentioned what a meticulous housekeeper she was, putting others to shame.
Gayle was exceptionally bright and intellectually gifted, well read, and always looked for ways to express her talents. She was also a real people person. She thrived on knowing interesting people, particularly if they held different points of view than her own.
She was a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints and enjoyed teaching there. She had many good friends to whom the family expressed gratitude for the gentle care of her, especially in her later days.
She was loved by her family despite the difficult later years, and they will miss her dearly and hold their memories of the good days they had together and all she selflessly did to raise them with dignity.
Survivors include a son, Erin Anderson, and his wife, Brenda, and their children Tom, Neal, and Jane of Brigham City, Utah; a daughter, Kristine Anderson, and her husband, Rick, of Vashon, Wash.; and a brother, Lee Anderson, and his partner, Greer, of Ashland.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Nature Conservancy through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January, 10, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor