Porch Talk with Dean and Shirley Anderson

by Donna Geer, Staff Writer

I asked my gracious hosts what their secret sauce was. After all, it’s not every day I get word there’s a couple celebrating their 75^th wedding anniversary. It’s an extremely rare event, as only 0.0016% of married couples reach this diamond anniversary milestone. They looked at each other and shook their heads. They were just lucky, they both said, finishing each other’s sentence like long-married couples do.

Dean and Shirley Anderson on their wedding day

Dean and Shirley Anderson’s story starts at Meridian High School (called Kent-Meridian HS now). They were high school sweethearts who went to a barn dance for their first date. Ball games and more dances followed, but Friday nights were spent roller skating. All the teens flocked to the Redondo Skating Arena on Redondo Beach back then. One of Shirley’s neighbors picked the kids up at their front doors – even Shirley’s house at the end of a really long driveway on Lake Meridian. That arena, boasting the largest Wurlitzer pipe organ of any roller rink in the world, burned down in 1951.

They were married on March 28, 1951, while Dean was home on a two-week leave from the Navy. Shirley said she only had him for two weeks before he shipped out to Korea on the USS Boxer, an aircraft carrier. She used to meet the USS Boxer in San Diego when it returned from deployments, and for a while, she worked for the Navy when the ship was being overhauled.

Dean was an aircraft mechanic working on the hangar deck for two separate tours in Korea. Back then, eight-man deck crews moved all the planes by hand – Corsair fighters and jets named after Panthers and Cougars. He told me about a Corsair exploding on the hangar deck in August 1952 when a gas tank ignited and set off a five-hundred-pound bomb. The whole hangar deck erupted in flames and destroyed maybe thirty planes, from what he remembers. Over sixty survivors were rescued from the sea. Nine men lost their lives that day.

Shirley heard about the explosion on the radio when she was on her way to work at Kenworth in Seattle. She was next to the teletype when a message finally came in. We had a little fire, but I’m okay. From Dean, they recited in unison. I was shocked at the lack of details, but back then, Shirley was just relieved to hear he was alive. Dean was assigned to that ship for two years. During the Korean War, it was always getting replenished with munitions and aviation fuel every four or five days. He heard the USS Boxer went through more munitions during the Korean War than maybe all the munitions used in World War II by the Navy.

He spent a year on Adak Island, Alaska, servicing PBY Catalina seaplanes as a flight mechanic before being stationed in San Diego. Then he was in California for a month before shipping back out on the USS Boxer, this time for two months in Japan. When he was discharged, he returned to Kent. That’s when he built their first home, and he and Shirley started their family.

Shirley worked at Kenworth until she was five months pregnant. Back then, Kenworth wouldn’t employ a woman after her second trimester. I thought it was shocking, but she just shrugged her shoulders and reminded me that’s the way it was back then.

Dean remodeled Shirley’s childhood home on Lake Meridian when it was still rural. That’s where they raised their family of four boys. They even had a couple cows. Shirley remembers the Holstein calf they raised for meat. Dean remembers when Shirley chased their milk cow after it broke down the fence because it was in heat. Shirley was six months pregnant with their third son at the time.

Dean worked for Strand Construction for 35 years, rising from the ranks of first-year apprentice carpenter until he retired as general superintendent and VP. His construction projects required travel, so the family joined him when they could. One summer, when they were a family of five, they lived at Moses Lake in a sixteen-foot trailer while Dean’s company was building a grocery store. Three boys in that small, cramped space? Dean laughed and said two of the boys slept in a tent.

The family moved to Kauai, Hawaii, for two years when Dean was overseeing the build of a 75-unit condominium on the water. They loved Kauai, with its laid-back culture and the flowers, the water, the weather. It’s where their sons learned to surf. After they came back to Washington, all the boys were promised tickets back to Hawaii for a whole month once they graduated from high school. Two sons eventually returned to live in Hawaii and raise their own families.

When Dean retired, they sold their house and for 25 years, they RV’ed across the country, spending winters in Arizona and El Centro, California, where the U.S. Navy Blue Angels practice their routines at the Naval Air Facility from January to March. They miss going south in the winter, watching the Blue Angels take off from the runway and fly their maneuvers. They’ve settled in a wonderful community in Chimacum now, close to two of their sons and their families.

Dean laughed and said they’ve been married a long time. He never thought he’d live this long. He’s 94 now, and Shirley’s 92. He marvels at the wonderful life they’ve had. Shirley’s proud of their family, of the way they raised their boys. She says it’s the most important thing she’s ever done. They have wonderful daughters-in-law, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren with an eighth one on the way. But with joy, there’s always heartache too, the kind no parent wants to suffer. This past November, their third son passed away from lymphoma. And Shirley’s been dealing with her own cancer, so Dean’s picked up a few more chores around the house.

For their 25th wedding anniversary, they went back to Hawaii. Their friends surprised them with a fancy lobster dinner at Coco Palms in Kauai, the same place Elvis Presley filmed “Blue Hawaii.” Dean said it was a real first-class place. This year, they’re celebrating their 75^th at home with their family. I heard Dean cooked a mean lobster for dinner. That sounds just about right.

Editor’s Note: As we prepared to go to press, Shirley Anderson’s family let us know that Shirley passed away. They agreed we should publish the article, such a nice tribute to a loving couple who got to celebrate the amazing milestone of 75 wonderful years together. Donna and all the Voice staff send their condolences to the family – thank you for bringing Dean and Shirley into our lives.

You can find these and other stories online at plvoice.org. As you already know, our little town is an eclectic mix of wonderful and interesting people. Some were born here and many more come from elsewhere, but all of us have chosen to make Port Ludlow our home. Every one of us has a great story, so let’s sit on the porch and have a conversation. We can share a cup of coffee, or tea, if preferred. You can reach me at sports@plvoice.org. Looking forward to hearing from you!