Bruce F. Anderson passed away August 27th in Sheridan, Wyoming. He was 92.

The son of Presbyterian missionaries Rev. Howard and Mary Anderson, Bruce was born on November 22nd, in Ludhiana, India in 1922. He had two brothers, Howard and David, both now deceased. His sister, Faith Gorter, survives him. After graduating from the Woodstock School in Mussoorie, India he moved to the United States to attend Park College in Kansas City. There he met Mary Louise MacLennan of Sheridan, Wyoming. Bruce joined the US Merchant Marines in 1943 and served in Europe during WWII. Bruce and Mary Louise married on December 20, 1944. Mary Louise died January 9th, 2003 in Sheridan. Five children and their spouses and partners survive him: Kathryn (Chris), Peter (Toni), Stewart (Gillian), Tina (Mike), and John (Ann). He is also survived by nine grandchildren: Justin, Carrie, Kevin, Casey, Chad, Emma, Stewart, Megan, Beau; by four great grandchildren: Averi, Mason, Jordan, Isaac; and by his companion Christine Valentine.

Although his college education was cut short by military service, Bruce had a long, successful career plying his considerable talents as a writer. He started in the 1940s in broadcast radio, working first at Sheridan’s KWYO. After relocating to Cedar Rapids, Iowa he moved into television, spending the largest part of his career at WMT-TV. For twenty years there Bruce held a variety of jobs. He wrote commercials, developed news, entertainment, and documentary programs, did network programming, and served as Creative Director. During the 1960s and 1970s, Bruce also managed the election campaigns of US Representative John Culver. In 1974, he left WMT to become Special Aide to US Senator Dick Clark, writing speeches and developing policy. After Clark’s defeat in 1978, Bruce co-founded an advertising agency. In the last years before retirement, he served as Director of Public Relations for Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids. He and Mary Louise moved back to Sheridan in 1996. Throughout his life, he was a very active church member, a loving husband, and a beloved father.

Bruce was a voracious reader, and a prolific writer both on and off the job. While his career as a professional writer enabled him to live a good life and raise a large family, he also wrote for himself and for the larger community. Bruce was the author of editorials published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, dramatic plays, poetry, memoirs about growing up in India, and several unpublished novels. His work reflects his abiding faith as a Christian, and a deep, probing interest in the moral and political dimensions of humanity. Those of us who knew him personally knew someone who was very kind, funny, curious, humble, thoughtful, and resilient in the face of hardship.

Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, September 2, 2015, at First Presbyterian Church, 2121 Colonial Drive, Sheridan, Wyoming with Pastor Doug Melius officiating. A committal will precede the service at 2 p.m. at Sheridan Municipal Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution for the Audiobook Collection in memory of Bruce, payable to: Sheridan County Library Foundation, 335 West Alger Street, Sheridan, WY 82801. Online condolences may be written at www.championfh.com. Arrangements have been entrusted with Champion Funeral Home.

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