Carl Lee Anderson

FRISCO, Texas — Carl Lee Anderson, 85, died on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. He passed peacefully at home surrounded by family.

Carl was born in Bessemer, Mich., on Jan. 20, 1930. He was the son of Carl Oscar and Helga Anderson and grew up in Bessemer attending A.D. Johnston High School, graduating in 1947. Following graduation he attended the University of Washington with a Naval ROTC scholarship. Graduating in 1951 with a degree in political science, he entered the Navy as a commissioned officer stationed in the Pacific during the Korean War.

While in the Navy he met and married the love of his life, Shirley, and they were married on May 26, 1955, in Zion, Ill. He served a total of 11 years in the Navy and for much of this time was at sea where he witnessed over 50 atomic bomb tests. His final assignment was as the Commanding Officer of the San Nicholas Island Base off the coast from Point Mugu, Calif. Having received the China Service and Korean Service medal, the National Defense and United Nations Service medal, Carl was honorably discharged in 1962 and he and Shirley embarked on their civilian life together in Carlsbad, Calif.

He began a career in the insurance industry and eventually moved his family from Carlsbad to Santa Barbara, Calif., and then to Bellevue, Wash. In 1972 he moved the family to Alaska, initially to Juneau and then to Anchorage in 1975 where he underwrote much of the construction of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. While in Anchorage in 1980, he was one of the founders and an executive of Alaska National Insurance Corp. where he later finished out a long and successful career.

In retirement he and Shirley moved to their cabin on Flat Lake, Alaska, and spent several winters traveling the lower 48 in their RV, taking up golf along the way and eventually landing in Palm Desert, Calif., where they purchased a winter home. Their summer residence eventually moved from Alaska to Colorado in 2000, and then to Marble Falls, Texas in 2009 and most recently Frisco.

Carl Enjoyed golf, politics, travel and especially time with family and friends.

Carl was preceded in death by his son, Jon Michael Anderson; and his brother, James Anderson.

His survivors include his wife, Shirley; his sons, David (Tracy) and Daniel (DeAnn); six grandchildren, Dylan, Alex, Taylor, Rebekah, Julian and Rachel; and two sisters, Florence Loeb and Evelyn Johnson.

A celebration of Carl’s life for family and friends will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, 8520 Main St., in Frisco.