Hank Anderson, 69, of Sturgeon Bay, died unexpectedly Tuesday, January 8th, 2019. Son of Marie (Schinkten) Anderson and the late Kenneth “Stutz” Anderson, he was born May 21st, 1949, in Wausau. He graduated from Abbot Pennings High School in 1967 and from UW-Oshkosh in 1971.
He married Lynn Gilchrist in 1975. Although they divorced, they remained devoted friends, co-parents, and eventual co-grandparents. Hank was the Procurement Manager at PBI until they closed in 1996, then he was the Production Control Manager at Hatco until retirement.
In addition to his professional jobs, he also bartended regularly, not only for his love of people, but also to pay off his house and pay for his daughter’s eventual college so she could graduate debt-free. Hank loved to fish, golf, cook, watch sports, play cards, and grocery shop. As the oldest sibling, he loved to give advice, whether it was about saving, being frugal (“don’t buy what you want to eat, buy what’s on sale”), or about honesty (“better to have someone steal $100 from you than to take a penny from them”).
He set the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct for himself. Anyone who knew Hank, knew that he was as generous as they come. He was always giving and never wanting anything in return.
He loved helping people, whether it was visiting sick people, buying groceries, giving financial assistance, or taking care of people’s yards. Hank had so many friends and loved befriending others, from all walks of life. He loved people and loved helping them all.
In 1979, Hank and Lynn had their only child, Julia. Hank was an extremely devoted father, filling Julia’s life with love and adventure, including trips to the Secret Crab Creek, backyard baseball, night crawler hunting in the evenings after a rainstorm, building a fish pond in the back yard, hosting cooking classes for Julia and her friends, along with many other very special memories. He helped Julia choose the college major of Paper Science and was so extremely proud of her career and life accomplishments, including the love she found with her husband, Andy.
Hank was blessed with 3 grandchildren, who were the light of his life. He visited on a weekly basis, and babysat regularly, often asking how much he was allowed to pay for his babysitting fun. Papa Hank provided many adventures for his grandkids, including teaching them to fish, going to cottages, playing “candy math,” inventing backyard games, and telling wonderful bedtime stories that were filled with morals of humility and kindness.
He loved to have sleepovers with the kids and also made special time for one-on-one activities, including teaching moments, secret fishing trips, chess matches, McDonald’s visits, or Red Room lunches. His love and pride for his grandchildren was unparalleled. Hank was preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Anderson, and his aunts and uncles.
He is survived by his daughter, Julia (Andy) Feltheim of Green Bay, 3 grandkids, Brooklyn (10), Dexter (8), and Hadley (7), his mother, Marie Anderson, his siblings, Terri (Bob) Lang, Mark (Betsy) Anderson, Scott (Ann) Anderson, Pete (Lisa) Anderson, and Sue (Dale) Crass, his former wife, Lynn Gilchrist, former sisters-in-law, Lisbeth Traer and Lori (Rich) Jaros, cousins, nieces and nephews, and many other friends and family members. A visitation for family and friends will be held at the Forbes Funeral Home in Sturgeon Bay on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. A time of sharing will take place at 6:00 pm that evening.
Memorials may be directed to the YMCA in his name.
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