Memorial for Don Anderson

Welcome

Good Afternoon and welcome to the Memorial Service for Don Anderson. Because Don enjoyed both the traditional hymns and many of the more modern worship songs we will open our service up today with one of each. The words for both songs will be on the screen so feel free to join us in singing or if the songs are new to you feel free to spend this time considering the message found in the words.

Singing - Hymn of Heaven & How Great Thou Art

And now we will have a scripture reading by a friend of the family, Bernie Bronkow

Scripture Reading - Bernie Brunkow

Psalm 23 (ESV)

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Thank you Bernie.

Obituary

“Donald Lyman Anderson, Age 78, of rural Mondovi passed away unexpectedly on May 22, 2023. That is the day Heaven gained another stubborn Norwegian. He was born July 28, 1944, in Wabasha, MN to Lyman and Ina Anderson of Modena, WI. Donnie attended Modena Schools through 8th grade and graduated from Mondovi High School in 1962. He attended the Technical School in Eau Claire for Cabinet Making and worked for his father at Anderson Implement in Modena. Donnie joined the Army National Guard in 1966 and was honorably discharged from the Army National Guard and Reserves in December, 1972.

During his younger years and beyond, Donnie enjoyed trapping, fishing and hunting with friends and relatives in the Modena area. Traveling to North Dakota with family to go visit relatives was also a highlight of his youth and adulthood. He spent many years as a carpenter in the area working with family and then building homes and apartments for Jim Heike. Donnie loved building. He built homes and did remodeling but never finished his own projects.

Donnie married Julie Switzer in July of 1981 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Together they owned Mento Greenhouses and later Julie’s Café. Along with his carpentry work he enjoyed hobby farming, fly fishing and trout fishing, camping trips, gardening, maple syrup in the spring and making lefse in the fall. The purchase of a team of draft horses kept him going after completing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and coffee time with many friends was also a favorite.

Donnie will be greatly missed by daughters Missie (Jeff) Rohrscheib, Mindy (Dave) Rosenberger, Sarah (Brett) Evans, son Justin Anderson, grandchildren, great-grandchild, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Julie; parents and sister and brother-in-law Sharon and Loren Loomis. The stories are flowing in Heaven as Donnie meets again with his uncles.”

Message

And we are gathered this afternoon to remember and honor the life of Don Anderson and the impact that his life has had on each one of us. As we just heard, Don was not a transplant to this area like many of us including my family and I. No, Don’s roots ran deep here in these valleys and I imagine that is why there are so many of us here today.

For those of you who have not yet heard and are wondering about the picture of the garden, cow and valley behind me, it is a significant part of Don’s story. This picture was taken on the very spot that Don took his last breath here on earth. This was the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes here and opened them to see Jesus his Savior in surroundings so magnificent that the English language lacks adequate words to describe it.

But what the family noticed in this image was much more than just a beautiful picture of a rural setting. There is a big part of his life represented here. At the bottom of the image we see the fruit of Don’s labor that morning. He was pounding in fence posts and working up the ground to plant the garden.

Don valued hard work. He learned to work hard at a young age, taught his kids to do the same and he was still at it even in his final moments here on earth. But there is more in this picture than just the garden. If you follow the opening in the trees, you can see the place where Don learned to work hard. The little town of Modena where he was born and raised.

I had the privilege of getting to know both Don and his late wife Julie over the past couple of years and what I quickly found out was that Don was one of those Mid-western Renaissance man. A jack of all trades that can talk shop in just about any area you care to mention. I have always looked up to men like this, wanting to learn from them and become more like them. There just didn’t seem to be any area that Don couldn’t tell you something about. Especially if you wanted to know the “right” way to do it.

I don’t think it was arrogance speaking, well not entirely anyway, but it was mostly the voice of experience. Because every time Don told me about the “right” way to do something he had a real life story to back it up. He knew how to do things right because he had seen what happened when it was done wrong.

And Don loved telling these stories, especially about the many buildings he built over the years. You can look out just about any window in this building and find a building that Don built. Mondovi Vet Clinic. Gunderson Meats. Houses back up on the hill and a whole mess of duplexes up behind me that he got up in 45 days. Yup. And he did it right.

On top of all that, I am proud to say that Don was a big part of seeing this building built. 20 years ago, the Pastor was a much more handy guy than he is now and that pastor and a host of other men and women including Don and Julie saw to it that every wall window and door frame got put in, and put in right.

I remember Don telling me a story about one Sunday morning shortly after the building was finished when they were sitting here in Church and they heard this loud “crack” sound. It was winter with a fair amount of snow outside and one of the guys, I can’t remember if Don said it was him or someone else, but one of these “midwestern jack of all trades” concluded that the roof joists had just broke loose. Brand new building and the roof rafters were put in by a professional company from out of state. Some of the guys couldn’t believe it so they sent one down the street to look back to see if there was any damage to the roof line. They guy they sent came back to confirm what they had feared shaking his head in disbelief.

The didn’t build it right.

The guy said that the roof line was definitely starting to drop. There was a huge problem. Eventually they discovered that the trusses were missing an essential brace to span this kind of distance…especially with a load of snow on it like we have here in Wisconsin. The out of state company lost all it’s profit because they had to come back, replace all the trusses and put it all back together again.

I appreciate this story Don told me for a a couple reasons. For one thing it is nice to know stories of the history of how the Church building came to be, but even more so because it reminds me of a story that Jesus told about building.

Much like Don, Jesus grew up learning the carpenter trade. He valued hard work. So when he told this story He was speaking from experience too.

He told this story at the conclusion of what we commonly call “The Sermon on the Mount” and it is one of the most comprehensive sermons in all of the Bible.

He spoke on everything: Anger. Lust. Divorce. Promises. Revenge. Loving your enemies. Giving to the Needy.

How to Pray. Fast. Spend. Save.

How to deal with anxiety, hypocrites, giving good gifts and how to have eternal life. (And my people think my sermons are long!) Then after all of that…Jesus says:

Matthew 7:24–27 (ESV)

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Jesus knew how to build it right. If Don were here right now I am sure he would agree. He would tell you that the good book tells us how to build our lives on a right foundation. A strong foundation. The only foundation that will hold up when the storms come. And they will come. But if you build it right...

Psalm 62:2 (ESV)

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

1 Corinthians 3:11 (ESV)

11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

There is much more I could say about how much of an honor it was to know Don. Truth is I already miss seeing him coming through that door each Sunday with his big Bible tucked under his arm, setting it down in his row and getting his cup of coffee and connecting with the Church body by sharing his great stories.

But I firmly believe, especially at this moment, that he would want us all to hear the message. Build it right! Build your life on the rock of Jesus the Christ, because then no matter what this life throws at you…you will not fall.

Will you pray with me.

Transition

Our final song for the service is a newer one even for our Church, but we thought the words would be appropriate for this occasion. If you know it, feel free to sing along, otherwise we welcome you to consider the words.

Music - To The Table

Prayer

(Instructions?)

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.