Wilbert "Andy" Lowell Andersen

Wilbert L. ‘Andy’ AndersenNov 3, 1924 - Jan. 14, 2019
World War II Veteran
Wilbert L. ‘Andy’ Andersen, 94, passed peacefully in his sleep at home on Jan. 14, 2019 in Dallas, Oregon.  His loving wife Connie had preceded him in passing just 5 weeks earlier. They were married 72 years!
Andy was the grandson of Peter and Anna Andersen, immigrants from Denmark who came to America in 1880 and started a dairy farm at Fiddle Creek near Florence, Oregon. Andy was passionate about his family heritage and often shared stories about his time spent on the family homestead as a boy. Throughout his life the area remained a special place to Andy, who shared his love of fishing, storytelling, and visiting the Historic Pioneer Cemetery at Siltcoos Lake with future generations.
Andy’s life began when he was born as Wilbert Lowell Andersen on Nov 3, 1924 in Portland Oregon. His parents, Willard and Erneva Andersen, raised their two children, Wilbert and Charles, throughout Oregon and Washington. Wilbert was called “Wib” by his family because his younger brother Charles had a hard time saying Wilbert. Later when “Wib” was a teenager he changed his nickname to “Andy” because as he would joke, “I didn’t want to be just another nut and Wilbert was too close to Filbert”. In 1941 Andy’s father Willard, an Ordained Minister and Pastor, was transferred from the Marshfield Nazarene Church to the Nazarene Church in Canby Oregon. It was there, in Canby, at Sunday School one day that Andy was introduced to his high school sweetheart and the love of his life Henrietta Kraft (Connie as we know her). Andy found out that she would be spending the summer picking blackcap raspberries so he too decided to pick berries. Motivated by his incentive to be close to her, he spent the whole month picking berries at a ½ cent per pound and eventually earned $5.00. He used that $5.00 to buy Connie a very special present for her 16th birthday, her first ride in a 2-place Stinson airplane with a jump seat. Andy and Connie’s love story took flight that day as did Andy’s interest in aviation and becoming a pilot.
While still a Junior at Canby High School Andy felt fortunate that he was able to fuel his interest in aviation by taking a special course on the rules and regulations of becoming a private pilot. WWII was underway and Andy planned to become a fighter pilot. He went to Portland to volunteer for the U.S Army Air Corps but was told that because he was of draft age he would have to wait. That summer Andy was drafted and sent to Camp Callan near San Diego for training in the U.S. Army Coast Artillery. He then once again volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and this time, was accepted for pilot training as a cadet and sent to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Upon completing the 6 month Pilot Ground School training at Central Point Teachers College he received a telegram that they no longer needed more pilots for WWII and that instead he would be transferred to the U.S. Army 76th Infantry Division. He was sent overseas where the first line of action was to relieve the 101 Airborne Division that was surrounded by the German Army. He served as Staff Sergant in Patten’s 3rd Army during the “Battle of the Bulge”. Andy was beginning to realise that his plan for himself was very different than Gods plan for him, “I wanted to be a fighter pilot”, he said, “but God’s plan was for me to dig foxholes across Europe”. On snowy nights entrenched in those foxholes, Andy would mend the holes in his fellow comrades socks, using the sewing skills he had learned from his mother Erneva. On one mission Andy rescued a puppy that he would carry in his pocket. The puppy helped keep him warm and in return, Andy would feed him a portion of his food from the soup line. These acts of handiness, kindness, and love for animals were core values that carried on throughout Andy’s life.
Andy earned a Silver Star for Gallantry in Action and upon being honorably discharged, as part of Gods plan, returned home to reunite with his family.  On Aug 1, 1946 Andy’s father Willard married Andy and Connie in Vancouver, WA. They borrowed his folk’s house trailer and moved it to Smith’s Trailer Park on Kings Blvd in Corvallis. Connie worked in a bakery while Andy attended college on the GI Bill at OSU. The college offered a credit class in learning to fly as a private pilot so Andy took 4 terms in order to earn 40 hours of flight time. He passed his private pilot tests, soloing on November 29, 1946 in a Piper J3 Cub, NC88495, at Corvallis Airport, 4SW and received his Private S/E Land Certificate #1054495, on February 5th, 1948. As a student, on a monthly budget of $90.00, Andy wanted to find a way to still fly, so he helped form the OSU Flying Club; a club with 200 faculty and students as members, and four airplanes. Andy was a problem solver who knew how to find solutions especially when he was passionate about something! His passion for flight earned him the Wright Brothers ‘Master Pilot’ certificate in 2006, for having over 50 years as a pilot with more than 2000 hours without an accident! He remained a member of the OSU Flying Club and continued to fly well into his eighties, with his co-pilot Connie by his side! His favorite planes to fly were the Mooney M-22, Piper Cherokee and Cessna 172 Skylane.
Education, dedication, family, and hard work were extremely important to Andy. Upon graduating from OSU with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1950, he went to manage a farm in Elkton, Oregon where he grew grains, berries and raised farm animals. The farm was the perfect setting to start a family and son Steven (1948) was joined by daughter Teresa (1950), son Richard (1952), and son Bert (1953). Teresa recalls wanting to follow her dad everywhere on the farm and her love of watching him work. She would put her little brothers into a wagon and take them down to the barn where they would sit and watch Andy on the tractor. Sometimes Andy would bring baby lambs home for the kids to feed with bottles!
Farm life was fun but Andy knew he needed to provide more for his family and in 1955 he seized the opportunity to take a job as Curry County Extension Agent in Gold Beach, Oregon. There, in Gold Beach, Andy honed his excellent carpentry skills, he had learned from his father and grandfather, and built the family a beautiful home overlooking the mouth of the Rouge River. Andy’s passions for nature, agriculture, farming, horses, and animals made him a natural born leader.  For 10 years Andy served the community by assisting with farmers, ranchers, and 4-h programs. His piloting skills helped provide air support to several of the Curry County 4-H Champion Trail Rides by dropping emergency supplies when not accessible by road.
Andy loved adventure and in 1967 he went to work with USAID in Agriculture. Nearly a decade of international travel followed for the Andersen family. While Andy worked for 2 years in Vietnam introducing a new crop of IR-8 high yielding rice, the family was stationed in Taiwan. Connie often recalled how when she would visit Andy in Vietnam they would sit together on the rooftop and she could see the bombs going off in the near distance. When Andy had time off from work he would visit the family in Taiwan. They would explore the island and immerse themselves in learning the language and culture. Andy’s work then took him to Turkey, where he spent 5 years successfully introducing summer wheat production. The family became immersed in the rich new culture of Turkey, exploring historical ruins, the Turkish Mediterranean Region, and The Black Sea. Andy was passionate about family, agriculture, farming, and helping to end hunger; as he would say, “If we could end hunger we could have world peace”.
Returning to Oregon, Andy went back to OSU and graduated with his Master of Agriculture Degree on June 13th, 1970. He then traveled to Tunisia for two years to work on an irrigation farming project that unfortunately was cut short due to political unrest. Andy was disappointed that the project in Tunisia did not have the same successful outcome as his previous work in Vietnam and Turkey. The details of all his hard work and agriculture efforts are available in the OSU Extension Service files. He dedicated himself to agriculture and education, working as an OSU Associate Professor, teaching Extension Education to foreign students. He loved OSU and he loved The Beavers!
In 1984 Andy retired from OSU and he and Connie moved to Independence, Oregon. They purchased a lot at 803 Cessna St. in the Independence Airpark, at the Independence State Airport, and with the help of family and friends, built their dream home. Inspired by his pioneer grandparents, Peter and Anna, Andy designed and built their “Pioneer House”, as he called it, out of rough sewn lumber; lumber like the pioneers had used by peeling poles and splitting shakes to build houses and barns. With its attached Airplane Hanger and taxiway, Andy and Connie’s Pioneer House fulfilled a lifelong dream of living with their airplane! With its indoor pool and spa, thriving garden, and indoor BBQ it became a gathering place for family and friends to build lifelong memories. Andy and Connie were very involved with their community and the many Airpark activities; EAA, ISAS, AOPA, International Flying Farmers, Historic Trail Flyers, Church Seniors, The Independence First Baptist Church, Friends of the Independence Library, Independence Airpark Homeowners Association, and more! An excellent planner, Andy was instrumental in organizing the Flying Farmers flight over the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri to Independence, Oregon. His love of aviation was extremely influential statewide and his enthusiasm for life inspirational to all! He loved listening to the “music” of airplanes taking off and flying by and always noted the good flying weather when there were holes in the clouds. He was dedicated to his wife, family, community, and country and lived a beautiful long and full life!
As Andy would say, “Happy Landings!”
Andy is survived by his sons Steven and Richard, his daughter Teresa, his 4 grandchildren Dean, Angelica, Jennifer, and Anna, and his 9 great-grandchildren Anthony, Emmet, Aidan, Katelyn, Brendan, Isla, Ian, Kira, and Hali. Three family members near and dear to him preceded him in passing, son Bert at age 23, granddaughter Bridget at age 20, and wife Connie at age 93.
Services held Friday Feb 1st 2pmThe First Baptist Church1505 Monmouth Str.Independence, Ore. 97351503-838-1001
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