THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010261
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Dr. Gerald Benton Anderson, 70, beloved husband and father of Wayland Drive, Portsmouth, died Tuesday, Jan. 30, 1996.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Margaret Lee Anderson; and three children, Bradford Lee Anderson of Portsmouth and his wife, Debra Sue Anderson, Brice Tilden Anderson of Mechanicsville and his wife, Cynthia Cary Anderson, and Margaret Ellen Downs of Chesapeake and her husband, Douglas Warren Downs. He also is survived by his three precious grandchildren, James Benton Anderson of Mechanicsville and Jennifer Lee Downs and Bradford Warren Downs of Chesapeake; a sister, Alethea Jennings of Raleigh, N.C.; and brother, Dr. Merrell P. Runquist of Earlysville.
Dr. Anderson was a retired education specialist from the Navy's Fleet Training Center in Norfolk, and he retired from the United States Naval Reserve with the rank of lieutenant commander. He also taught briefly in Portsmouth public schools in the Mid-1950s.
He was a native of Milwaukee and a 1948 graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. He also held graduate degrees from the College of William and Mary (1964 and 1979); George Washington University (1967, 1975 and 1976); Old Dominion University (1978); and he earned his doctorate in education from William and Mary in 1989.
Dr. Anderson was a member of Centenary United Methodist Church; Beta Theta Pi Fraternity; Merrimac Kiwanis Club; the American Legion; the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. He was a Navy combat veteran of World War II with duty in the Pacific theater; and he was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The family will receive friends this evening at the Anderson home on Wayland Drive. A funeral will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church, 3312 Cedar Lane, in Portsmouth. Burial will follow at Olive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth. Foster Funeral Home is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made to Portsmouth Catholic Elementary School, 2301 Oregon Avenue, Portsmouth 23701.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB