Roger Anderson Jr. ’71 died Oct. 19.
Anderson Jr. died Oct. 19. He was born Dec. 1, 1948, to Roger and Elva Anderson (both deceased) in Centralia, Wash. The family moved soon afterward to Longview, Wash., where Roger graduated from R.A. Long High School in 1967. He attended Pacific Lutheran University, where he met his wife, Arletta (Prestbye) Anderson ’70, and they were married in August 1970 in Canby, Ore. In 1971, Roger entered seminary at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). Following internship in Bismarck, N.D., Roger graduated from LSTC and began a doctoral program in Hebrew scripture at the University of Chicago. Roger spent several summers in Israel, excavating at the Tel el-Hesi site; most recently he was categorizing artifacts from the dig site and published a report in Palestine Exploration Quarterly. Roger was an active member of Queen Anne Lutheran, where Arletta serves as cantor. He taught adult education classes and was the Northwest Washington Synod (ELCA) representative for the ELCA initiative “Book of Faith” as well as a member of the Board for ELCA Campus Ministry at the University of Washington. Roger is survived by his wife of 44 years, Arletta of Mukilteo; daughter Brita (Nick DiTola) and granddaughter Luciana, of Aurora, Ill.; and sister Kathleen Anderson ’83 (Bob Lewis) of Mill Creek, Wash.
