Obituaries

Allen Leroy Anderson, 82, of St. Charles, IL, passed away on September 17th, 2024, after a 15 year journey with dementia.
Allen was born January 25th, 1942 in Carthage, SD, the second son of Wesley Dean Anderson and Evelyn (Culver).
He graduated from Carthage High School in 1960, and soon joined the Army. The two years he served were fortunately during peacetime, and he spent most of that time learning mechanics on bases in Germany, and taking the opportunity to tour other places in Europe during his leaves.
After military service he returned home, then moved to St. Charles, IL, where other friends and family from Carthage had settled, and began his over 30 years of working on the production lines at Burgess-Norton, making various machine parts. He was blessed to be able to retire early and spent several years writing and recording his own music, and sharing cds of it with everyone he met. His songs were prolific and demonstrated his musical talents in guitar and keyboard playing, as well as his great sense of humor and punnery.
Allen married Gloria Johnson on November 25th, 1967, at the Congregational Church in Carthage, SD. Gloria was the longtime friend of his younger sister and also from Carthage. They started dating while in St. Charles and enjoyed 42 years of marriage until her death in 2009. Their union produced one daughter, Dawn Anderson, currently of Geneva, IL.
In addition to creating music, Allen loved playing tennis and golf. In his last seven years in local memory care facilities, Allen re-created himself as a vaudevillian, entertaining his fellow residents and especially charming all the ladies. His daughter always had people coming up to her, praising what a great singer Allen was and what a lovely smile and kindness he had.
Remaining to cherish Allen’s memory are his daughter Dawn, sister Sheryl, brothers Gary and Dean and nieces Kelly and Kristy, as well as their spouses and families.
Allen’s mother often said that Jesus entered her heart the day he was born, and her great hope for him was that he become a preacher. While he may not have preached the words of God, throughout his life he demonstrated God for others to see. He was generous, creative, intelligent and thoughtful, and always took great joy in sharing the song in his heart with everyone. For him, music and humor was the best medicine, and through his songs and the smiles he shared, he offered healing to so many people. He will be deeply missed.  At this time per family request there are no services scheduled

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