Thomas ANDERSON Obituary

Our greatly loved father, grandfather, brother and friend to many passed on to the next adventure on May 3, 2022. He will be sorely missed by all of his friends and family, as he was a powerful spirit unlike any.

Tom was born in Spokane, Washington, on July 11, 1959, the youngest of four boys. This explains a great deal about who Tom was. With apologies to Darwin, his early life was more than a little "survival of the fittest." His training for his many outstanding athletic adventures began in the tag-team wrestling room with his brothers. At home, he was known as "Sky-Low-Low," named after a little-person, 50's era professional wrestler. His boxing and rugby opponents would later suffer at the hand of his skills learned on the sun-room mattresses.

Tom's many hobbies included the forenamed boxing and rugby, but the more gentle arts of fishing, crabbing, and all forms of survival-craft, but his love was the art of bonsai. Early on, he collected throw-away tree sprouts and rescued small seedlings of every kind to form into beautiful living art. His go-to saying as he visualized a beautiful bonsai from a weak little sapling, was "I see perfect picture." Some of his best examples are over 50 years old.

The last 15 years of his life was spent in the lush forests of the coastal mountains in southern Oregon and northern California. The last five he lived off-the-grid on Elk Ridge near Whitethorn, California.

Mostly, though, he was a man of God, a loving father, a family-man, and a sincere friend. No one spending more than five minutes with him departed not wanting to experience more of this huge, energy-emanating spirit of a human being. With his open door policy, he welcomed, loved, and cared for many young lives as if they were his own.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents Jim and Molly Anderson, and his brother Chris. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Jackie Anderson, and by his seven children and three grandchildren: Jordan (and Tabi), Christopher, Seth (and Becca, Alec-9, Ethan-8 and Inanna-2), Caleb (and Catherine), Isaiah (and Zoe), Hannah, and Arsene (AJ). He is also survived by his two older brothers Jim (and Lisa), and George (and Patty), and dozens of cousins, nieces and nephews.

Memorial services are planned for Spokane on June 10, 2022 at the Spokane Women's Club 3 PM-6 PM. A service is also planned for California at a later date.