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 John Leon Anderson
John Leon Anderson Jr., age 66, died peacefully on May 9, 2014.
Born on Jan. 18, 1948 in Salt Lake City, Utah to J. Leon and Helen Anderson, John was a passionate man who lived life to it’s fullest.
At age 11, he built his first sailboat and continued to amaze everyone who knew him with his self-taught talent of designing and building boats. In 1969, after returning from New Zealand where he served a two-year mission for the LDS church, he married the love of his life, Patricia Elkins. His passion for sailing and boat building brought them to the beautiful Pacific Northwest where he became an accomplished yacht designer and he and Patricia lived and raised their family for the last 42 years.
John could achieve anything he put his great mind to. Nothing could hold him back and he fulfilled most every one of his life's dreams. He wanted to fly so he became a pilot and went on to build a number of his own planes. He wanted to sail the world so he became an expert sailor and built a number of sailboats including his other soulmate the “Windspirit.” Later in life, John developed a passion for scuba diving and would often travel to experience the wonders of the ocean.
Whether it was sailing, flying or scuba diving, he loved the feeling of the wind beneath his wings. He also had many other passions that he enjoyed including astronomy, motorcycling, traveling, storytelling and music. His deep yearning for adventure and experiencing all the world has to offer, and his example of striving to fulfill any and every dream has been shared with and passed onto his children and grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Patricia and his children, John J.(Joanna), Kes(Sara), Aimee(Kelly), Sunny(Brett), daughter-in-law Gina(Derek) and 12 grandchildren. He was preceded in death in 1996 by his eldest son, Christopher Paul.
A memorial service will be held May 20, 2014 at 3 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2138 NE Mesford St, Poulsbo, Washington
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LeGrand Richardson
John and I were great friends. He won an award for building a sailboat, sold it and purchased a blue Morgan sportscar. We made a trip to San Pedro, CA in it with stops in Mesquite, NV (tractor Mechanic brazed a pushrod together) Las Vegas (Teen Beat Team club... I won a dance contest and a Beatles album) and stopped in San Pedro (LA Harbor) where he taught in a sailing school and in September he flew over to Hawaii to crew back on a 30 meter sail boat to California. He built another boat (14' sloop) and we raced it the next summer, his boat and my Volvo. I loved that Morgan.... He would put the windshield flat and scream up the canyon with the wind in your face (less drag). I saw him and his wife at the 10 year reunion, he was living in Washington. He will be missed.
Cordell Bott
John and I were also great friends and spent much time together working on his projects. I helped him build his first boat (a canoe), his observatory in his backyard, and his sailboat he built in the basement of Highland. He won the state shop trophy for that boat. I remember going in at 4 AM and listening to the Beatles on the radio (they had just become popular) while we worked on the boat. Over Memorial Day Mike Sweeney, Tracy Wise, John and I sailed it around Bear Lake. We had planned on just a few hour trip, but ended up sailing around the entire lake. That was a beautiful, but cold, night with a big moon and a light breeze. I'lll miss catching up with him, but I hope his family reads all the posts and remember what a special man he was.
No one other than myself will remember the quote from my commencement address, but John embodied it perfectly. "A vision without a task is just a dream. A task without a vision is drudgery. But a task with a vision is victory."
LeGrand Richardson
I remember another time that John went sailing at the Great Salt Lake... A little early in the season and they had to get rescued..... Were you with him at that time? When I was going to College, I purchased a Catamaran Sailboat (much faster than a mono hull) and we sailed at Rock Port (lots of wind) and at Bear Lake I was flying a hull with 3 people on that side. You have to be a lot more creative with a Sail Boat than a motorboat.
Randy Hanks
I last knew John when he was designing and building small sailboats out of fiber glass in an old building in Sugarhouse. I was one of the lucky ones to be able to buy one of his production boats. At the same time, he was building a 42 foot sailing ship, a double masted ketch called the Southern Cross which he hoped to sail down in the Southern hemisphere --which is the only place you can see the constellation called the Southern Cross. My friend, Brent Richins (Gail Richin's brother) and I sailed with him on the maiden voyage at Bear Lake. Shortly after he moved his young family to the Northwest and we lost track of him. He puts real meaning into the phrase “livin‘ the dream“. Sorry to see he has passed away.
LeGrand Richardson
That's for sure..... You learn something everyday....... If you're not careful....... John was a piece of work, what an analytical genius he must have been. I tried finding him the last few years. I guess I didn't look hard enough.
Sue Neilson (Thurman)
This is so random, but I was his one and only crew mate in some sailing regatta at Bear Lake in a boat he had made. I knew nothing about sailing, but he did, and we had an admirable race. I wish I had kept in contact with him. What an amazing life!! Sue
Dave Robinson
I just found these illustrations on Google and thought that some of you folks might like to see John's other soulmate, the "WindSpirit", that was referred to in his obituary above.
Jerald (Jerry) Stansel (N/A)
Dear Johnny Anderson, I didn't know you personally. I just remember seeing you at Highland High 1966.Now after reading your profile I wish that I could have met & known you personally. And LeGrand Richards, what a character! Great friend to have. You were very fortunate to have known each other. Really miss seeing all my Highland High Friends & 1966 Classmates. The next re-union John you will be tremendously missed. Myself as a kind of a Wild Adventuresome crazy guy, we would have been Brothers,walking & talking on the same path for sure at Highland. ALOHA John ,and I am sure we will all see you someday on the Same TRAIL! Your 1966 Highland Classmate, and Classmates, Jerry Stansel