Obituary posted on Legacy.com by Georgia Cremation – Duluth on November 14, 2023.
Donald Lee Anderson (Andy), 76, of Buford, Georgia, departed this world on November 7, 2023 after a heroic battle with cancer. Family and friends will forever miss his charm and wit.
On November 14, 1946, Don was born in Detroit, Michigan to William and Blanche Anderson. Growing up in a military family, they moved around and had to give up many of their belongings as they moved over the years. One of Don’s favorite stories to tell was when his mother gave away his teddy bear when he was young, and he would raise her about it for years to come. It became a running joke between the two. Don was in his late 40s; She bought him another teddy bear to keep him quiet about why she gave the bear away.
In 1970, Don met his wife while working as an undercover detective. She worked as a cashier at EJ Korvette. Another one of Don’s favorite stories to tell everyone was how he met the love of his life, Donna. “It started with me handcuffing her to the clothes rack.” After that, you would look at him from the side. He smiled and said I asked her if she would be here when I came back? He said: “She made a smart comment to him, so he handcuffed her to the clothes rack and said, ‘Well, now you’ll be here when I get back.'” In 1972, the border collie obsession began with the first dog named Daisy, which was given by Donna. From then on, the bond of friendship lasted three years until he came to his senses and married Donna in 1975, where they would spend 48 fantastic years.
The two moved from Michigan to Georgia in 1978. When asked why Georgia, he said we went south so we didn’t have to shovel the rain. But the real reason he moved to Georgia was because his father managed some apartments in Stone Mountain; One day while visiting his father, he fell in love with the place and wanted to put down roots there. During his more than 40 years in Georgia, he called many cities home, but his favorite place to live was Buford. He loved his country front porch where he would sit with a cigar and watch either the University of Michigan Wolverines or the Detroit Red Wings.
In 1994, Don bought his first boat because he loved life on the water. He had the family take a boating course, which fortunately we all passed. The first time we took the boat out on Lake Lanier, it was a challenging task for a beginner, right after we took the packaging off the boat. We were caught in the worst of the storm, white caps formed on the water and there was nothing to protect us from the falling hail. We ran back to the dock, Don at the helm, Donna trying to keep all the seat cushions from flying out the back, and our daughter Nicole at the bow holding on for dear life. While he mastered boating and the weather on the lake, we cannot say that he mastered fishing. Even though he loved going out on the boat, you wouldn’t want to fish unless you were the one on the menu because somehow he would catch you casting his fly. Or he would lose the fight with a fish that watched his rod break in two; His brother Lee always joked with him and said he was the one who got away and told you to stop fishing since he took half your fishing rod.
2007 was a big year for Don. He was able to cross two items off his wish list. The first item crossed out was his first cruise, and second, he became a certified diver. In the following years he completed 22 trips with his family and ten dives, six of them with his daughter Michelle and son-in-law Bill. He and his family spent a lot of time traveling the country or traveling the world. One of the most talked-about cruises was the transatlantic cruise he and Donna took from South Hampton on a ten-day nonstop trip to Miami. They stayed in Paris three days before leaving South Hampton and swear that Donna took him in circles three times before finding the famous chocolatier. Another funny thing he did was tease his grandson Alexander on cruises and say, “Please refer to me as Mr. Anderson in public.”
Georgia Cremation in Duluth is assisting the family with arrangements.
