Late to the Garden

Paul Allan Anderson died peacefully on August 24, 2023 in Traverse City, Michigan at the age of 83.

Paul is survived by his wife of 58 years, Katharine, his daughter Mya Anderson (Richard Schmidt), his son Erik (Sarah) Anderson, and his grandchildren Paul Kalifatidi, Zakhary Kalifatidi, Ruth Anderson, and Jane Anderson, his sister Fay Anderson (Robert Sklar) his brother David (Meredith) Anderson, and his sister-in-law Julie (Terry) Preston, and extended family. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Allan and Violet Anderson.

Paul was an engineer, inventor, master woodworker, and sailor. He was a devoted son, brother, husband, grandfather, friend, neighbor, and the kind of father that all children deserve. By far his most profound skill was his gentle way of making people feel appreciated, comfortable, and loved.

The oldest son of Swedish immigrants born on November 12, 1939 in Chicago, Paul spent his early childhood playing in the vacant lots between the Chicago factories and apartment blocks, often making scooters out of fruit crates and roller skates. When he was 11, he got a job selling evening newspapers on the street corner, collecting the frozen change with his fingerless wool gloves and saving up to buy a new Schwinn bicycle in time for Spring. He spent summers with his father and the employees of his father’s tool and die business. He recalled falling asleep on his daybed in the dining room apartment to the sound of his mother’s typewriter as she did the bookkeeping. He was surrounded by Swedish immigrants and deeply influenced by their work ethic and sense of community. When the family moved to Park Ridge, Illinois in 1954, Paul learned carpentry framing from his father, and together they completed the upstairs bedrooms. He was a boy scout who loved the outdoors and could make himself comfortable anywhere, especially camping and canoeing. In high school, his counselor encouraged him to apply to Northwestern University, and he recalled feeling overwhelmed at becoming a first generation college student. He entered the McCormick School of Engineering Cooperative Education program, and was able to study and work for his father at Andrick Tool in Schiller Park. He graduated from Northwestern University after 5 years with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1962.

Along the way, Paul finally invited his neighbor in Park Ridge out on a date after they had shoveled snow together, and thus began Paul’s commitment to his “super-wife,” Katie. Paul and Katie were married in 1965 and traveled to Europe and Sweden to meet Paul’s cousins in Finspång. Paul and Katie moved to Arlington Heights in 1968 and raised two children in a home on the corner of Bristol and Lynden Lanes, where Paul loved to pitch wiffle balls to the neighborhood kids and help them catch fireflies. He curated the morning newspaper for his family with table knives pointing out the interesting articles alongside a plate of hard-boiled eggs. He delighted in attending marching band and orchestra performances and seeing the world through his children's passions. He supported them unconditionally over the years, traveling great distances with an open mind to be a part of their lives. He quietly solved tiny problems and also showed his family, with his persistent gratitude for life’s blessings, that many of the “bigger” problems were also quite small.

Paul worked for Andrick Tool, Baxter International, and then Weiler Engineering/Automatic Liquid Packaging in Elk Grove, IL and Elgin, IL. He often came home for lunch in summer or went to fitness classes at the Lattof YMCA with the noon-hour “Funseekers.” He retired in 2006 as Director of Engineering after 35 years with 9 U.S. patents in Blow-Fill-Seal manufacturing technologies. His career at Weiler also brought his extended family cherished memories of winter weekends at the company cabin, known as “The Farm” near Oxford, Wisconsin.

For a number of years, Paul was a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights, IL. He enjoyed being an usher with a few of his fellow congregation members. Beginning around 1978, he ushered only during the winter, the reason being he purchased his first sailboat, a Balboa 20. He joked that he should name the boat Church so that he could tell people that he was busy on warm and sunny Sundays, as he had to go to Church. Rather, he chose the endearment Sweets. This began his path as a sailor, driving the hour that it took to Waukegan Harbor where Sweets was launched by trailer. Eventually, a slip in Chicago’s Montrose Harbor became a second home to the family, and over the years we would see four different boats come and go. One of his favorites was the Tanzer 22 Finspong (named after the town in Sweden where his father was born), which Paul eventually enlisted in the Midwest Open Racing Fleet (MORF) for a number of years. With crew consisting of friends and family, Paul’s passion for strategic racing was ignited, whether on a course off the Chicago skyline or an overnight race to Michigan City, Indiana. Over the years, Paul and Katie hosted multiple family members and friends on cruises and races out of Montrose Harbor in all types of weather. For a number of years the boat was overwintered at a boatyard up the Chicago River. This required some harrowing day trips to and from the lake at both the start and end of sailing seasons. Eventually these experiences and contacts led him to be a crew member on a different boat sailing the Chicago to Mackinac City race on four occasions, during which he enjoyed the camaraderie and shared his skills with navigation.

Perhaps it was on these races that Paul watched the Michigan dunes from the Manitou straits and longed to retire to this more northerly climate, away from the rush of the city. In 1998, Paul and Katie purchased a lot in the Harbour Ridge development on the edge of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Maple City, Michigan. In 2000 their retirement home was completed, with a view overlooking Paul’s beloved Manitou Straits and Good Harbor Bay, a woodshop, and room to accommodate friends and family... especially grandchildren who looked forward to "Camp Anderson" adventures in Leelanau County every year. A pair of 50-power binoculars mounted on a tripod in the living room allowed him to watch all marine traffic from the annual race of the sailboats headed north to the freighters carrying limestone and iron ore. Paul and Katie's home has been the location of countless family gatherings, where Paul announced “sunset alert!” with enthusiasm.

After retiring in 2006, Paul and Katie moved to Maple City full time. In his woodshop over the years, he built three different boats, including a Devlin duck boat, an Abenaki 16 cedar strip canoe, and a Penobscot 14 Sailing Dinghy. The Penobscot 14 (affectionately named the Katie B) won the Bob Johnson Memorial Award in 2011 at the Traverse City Boats on the Boardwalk Show. In addition to the boats, there were countless other wood projects over the years. Paul was a master woodworker, and he continued to innovate with designs from furniture to spice racks to cutting boards as gifts for families and friends. Paul was a board member of the Harbour Ridge Homeowners Association where he worked on numerous projects, including constructing the row of more than 30 mailboxes on M22. He was always willing to help a neighbor with projects when there was need.

The Tartan 28 sailboat Finspong also made the move from Chicago to Michigan, where it was moored at the Harbor West Yacht Club in Traverse City. There Paul continued to sail with family and friends, including with his good friend, Tony Mulac. He volunteered with the Maritime Heritage Alliance where he used his craftsmanship by contributing to the restoration of the sailing vessel Champion.

Like an estimated 55 million people around the world, Paul suffered in recent years as dementia symptoms interfered with his tremendous capabilities. He moved into Cherry Hill Haven in March of 2023, when he became, as is often said, “unable to care for himself,” and yet he remained steadfastly able to to care for others with his humor, hugs, compliments, and friendship. We were touched and amazed that he found a way to do his most generous and humble work in his last five months.

We were fortunate to receive the support this past year that we needed. We would like to thank the wonderful people at Promedica Hospice for their care of Paul and his family. We are deeply grateful to the dedicated caregivers and staff at Cherry Hill Haven, as well as the residents who quickly became Paul’s friends. We also thank Dr. Joshua Kroll of Thirlby Clinic, Jennifer Kalchik, Comfort Keepers of Traverse City, and of course, Julie and Terry Preston.

In lieu of flowers, Paul’s family would appreciate donations to the following organizations: