C. LeRoy "Roy" Anderson

MISSOULA ~ C. LeRoy “Roy” Bood Anderson passed away May 30, 2024 at the age of 93. A celebration of his life was held a year and a day afterward in Island Park, Idaho as part of a family reunion. The occasion also celebrated the lives of his sister, Elizabeth “Beth” Anderson Jordan and his sister-in-law, Joan Ainscough Anderson. Several trees and bushes, including an aspen and lilac were planted in their honor.

Roy’s son-in-law, Brady, and adopted grandson, Justin Pfau, planted a chickadee birch on the hillside above the house Roy designed, built and loved. The tree also honors Jody Rhoads Anderson, Roy’s beloved wife who preceded him in death.

Roy’s family, all Swedish, had a beautiful white birch on their homestead in Rexburg, Idaho. It was planted some forty years prior to his birth to remind the family of the ones growing wild in their homeland. During his mission in Japan, Roy wrote a song about the tree for his mother’s birthday (in March of 1955).

Instead of a large gathering in Missoula, individuals are invited to visit the family home at their leisure and if they wish, share in memories, enjoy a light meal and a few musical favorites that Roy wrote or played during his lifetime. You are welcome to plant something in his honor or take a plant cutting as a memory. Roy’s daughters, along with their husbands, Elaine (Brady) and Catherine (Doug), hope to visit individuals who cannot make the trip to Missoula.

The family would like to thank everyone in Roy’s life who meant so much to him through the years and in so doing, continued to lift his spirits after Jody’s passing. This includes the faculty and students in the Asian Studies, Sociology and exchange student programs at the University of Montana as well as Swedish Vasa Members, Jody’s P.E.O. Sisterhood, Roy’s dedicated doctors and caretakers, family and friends.

Family Reflection (written in June, 2024)

Dad passed away at the age of 93, his lungs no longer struggling from MSA (an atypical type of Parkinson’s). It’s hard to imagine having a more loving father. Our hearts are still broken, yet filled with the kind of gratitude one can not express in words.

He passed just after the Memorial Day weekend, which was beautiful in and of itself. Our family spent as many Memorial Day holidays as possible in Dad’s home town of Rexburg, Idaho. Lilacs were always placed lovingly on the family graves.

Dad had a very sensitive side, as well as a good sense of humor. Growing up on a potato farm, and then passing away on National Potato Day has somehow made the somberness of his passing a bit lighter. When Dad passed, he was surrounded by family, his beloved cats and the mountain home he built with his own hands. Cathy read to him from the Swedish novel, The Emigrants, which he had read to us as children. Just outside of the home he had built, the hills bloomed like never before with the lupine and paintbrush he’d written about years earlier in “The Bitterroot Song.” The sweet scent of lilacs lingered outside his bedroom window, the start of which came from his family home in Rexburg, Idaho, along with the yellow pioneer rose. Just a week earlier, Brady had taken Dad to see the bright yellow balsamroot where the meadow larks sing.

Before he passed, Dad expressed the fact that he had lived a long, productive, and happy life. He grew up in a family that had almost nothing monetarily, but was rich with love.

Dad never complained about things unless it was of true significance. He looked forward to every day and looked back fondly at his life-long memories. Instead of dwelling on hardships, he recalled his childhood and entire life in story-like fashion; as pieces of history and moments to be grateful for. He had a gift of somehow living simultaneously in the past, the present and the future. I think it’s why he was well-loved and loved so well. He was kind, generous and hard-working and rarely met a stranger, like most of the men on both sides of his family.

Dad will be remembered for many things, among those, his giving nature, the Yogi Yorgesson (Swedish) songs he sang, his Christmas poetry, waterfall gardens, bolo tie collection and childhood stories.

We have chosen to share a few of Dad’s unpublished stories at the end of his obituary so they live on for others to enjoy. Those of you who sat around the Anderson dinner table are likely familiar with at least one.

 SUNSET MEMORIAL GARDENS OBITUARY

Clarence LeRoy “Roy” Bood Anderson, was born January 16,1931 in Rexburg, Idaho to parents Anna Catherine Bood Anderson and Carl Emil Anderson, both second generation Swedes. He was named after uncles on both sides of the family.

His mother’s side, The Boods, were from the province of Varmland and his father’s side, The Anderson’s, from Ostergotland. Roy, his parents, his older brother Lorin and younger sister Beth, along with extended family, lived in a small, hand hewn log cabin. The home was remodeled in 1953 with Roy’s help (dirt floors were replaced, running water added and the home was enlarged).

Originally, Roy wanted to be a wheat farmer, but he lost out on a bid for land adjacent to his parent’s place, which changed the course of his life. Because of this, he enrolled in Ricks College, paying for his schooling and other expenses through carpentry jobs and a radio scholarship that paid $43.00 per quarter, just one dollar shy of tuition! Part of Roy’s radio program consisted of him singing Swedish dialect songs and cowboy ballads. He carried his love for music with him his entire life, playing his guitar and singing to his family each night. Even as a professor at the University of Montana, he would often weave family history and folk songs into his sociology classes.

All through school and into his college years, Roy enjoyed basketball, drama and FFA activities, including speech. His interest in the arts led him to meet his future wife, Jody. During a concert at Brigham Young University in 1957, they happened to sit next to each other. From that time forward, they were inseparable. The two were married in the Idaho Falls L.D.S. Temple on August 6, 1958.

Roy acquired his P.H.D. in sociology at Ohio State University. Post graduation, Roy took several different teaching positions out West. The couple’s 36 foot trailer went everywhere with them, pulled by a red 1954 Chevi. After living in Willamette, Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, The Rocky Mountains made the final decision for the couple and they permanently moved to Missoula, Montana in 1966. Roy’s “Bitterroot Song” was written while they were in Arizona to honor the mountains, wildflowers and birds he and Jody longed to go back to. Within a year, Roy had designed and built a house on Blue Mountain, inspired by architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona home, Taliesin West. In April of 1967, the day Roy and Jody moved into their new home, Elaine Ann was born. Cathy followed in January of 1972, born just one day before Roy’s own birthday. Among other things, Roy passed on his love of world culture, poetry and ballads to Elaine and his aptitude in photography, gardening, Japanese language and culture to Cathy.

Over the years, Roy wrote many books, poems and songs to honor family, significant places, events and experiences that unfolded around him. He translated several Japanese folk songs as well. His favorite, “Himachidori,” or “The Plover” was played at his memorial in Idaho.

Roy’s scholarly works include Joseph Morris: and the Saga of the Morrisites, along with articles in “Montana The Magazine of Western History.” He and Jody co-authored No Longer Silent, a collection of world-wide autobiographical accounts of WWII from individuals who were children during that time. The impetus for the book came during a conversational session at Toyo University (Japan), on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

Roy enjoyed sharing stories about his childhood, and because of the large generational gaps in his family, he was able to document a great deal of historical change. He remembered the stories his grandparents, uncles & aunts told about their experiences. He wrote many of their stories down, along with his own, in an unpublished book titled Bittersweet Years. It described a time from horse drawn wagons to the automobile, from homesteading to The Great Depression and WWII. Some of these stories are included at the end of his obituary.

Roy spent his last years enjoying the company of his cats, reading and going on family drives and picnics. He did a lot of reminiscing about the past and believed that those who crossed his path all enriched his life in some way.

Roy often thought back on his travel and teaching experiences as well as his time spent in nature. He talked a lot about his huckleberry picking days, an activity that was special throughout his life (as a child, with his Uncle Clarence, and as an adult, with family and friends). The Brods, who were long time friends, colleagues and neighbors often brought to mind memories of berry picking, huckleberry pie and musical evenings.

Roy always looked forward to summer visits from Cathy, Doug and Anton. It was a time when the whole family would visit Glacier Park, Yellowstone or Virginia City. Roy never missed an opportunity to see the Virginia City Players!

On separate occasions, Cathy, Elaine (Brady and Joan) were able to take Roy back to Idaho so he could see the places he dearly loved.

Roy was preceded in death by many close friends and family members including his brother, Lorin Amil Anderson, his brother-in-law, Warren Jordan, and his wife and life-long companion, Jody Rhoads Anderson. He felt so fulfilled in giving Jody a beautiful memorial and in seeing so many dear friends and relatives there. Roy and Jody were active in the Swedish organization, Vasa, whose members graciously helped cater and decorate for the memorial. There were many times Roy expressed his gratitude for the beautiful memorial music and all those who made that day special, including the personal catering from not only Vasa, but from Jody’s P.E.O. sisterhood and very close friend, Setsuko Roberts.

Roy is survived by: his daughters, Elaine Ann Anderson-Wood (Brady and son Edge) and Catherine Ellice Anderson (Doug and son Anton); his sister-in-law Donna Pitcher Fisher; adopted sister Carolyn Sheley; first cousins, Evelyn Bood Valentine and Marjory Bood Gifford; and cousin-in-law Bob Richard. Roy had many additional cousins (some living in Sweden) as well as many nieces and nephews. He was particularly close to his nephew Bradley Anderson (Dawn Anderson) and his cousin, Hal Meng (whom he also considered a nephew). Brad and Hal visited Roy in their teenage years through adulthood, enjoying family history conversations, carpentry and gardening projects. Roy beamed for weeks after their visits!

Roy became a brother, father or grandfather figure to many individuals, including: Beryl Churchill, Bob Lovely, Justin Pfau, Naomi Chiba, Setsuko Roberts, and exchange student daughters Lotta Bornefalk, Ritsuko Ito, Trine Moller and others. These relationships meant a great deal to him!

Anyone who knew Roy during his life lifted his spirits during the last years, whether it was a past memory or an act of kindness. He certainly enjoyed those who helped fill his sweet tooth, including Brady’s mother, Joan Newman, his caretakers and friends.

The family would like to thank Dr. Len Wilson and Karen Erickson, who were travel companions and close friends to Roy and Jody. Their knowledge and immense kindness were true gifts as they helped the family through the progression of Roy’s Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).

We invite anyone who is interested to share photos and memories of Roy, pay something forward, and/or plant something in his honor (either in your own garden, Roy and Jody’s garden, or anywhere in the world).

Elaine and Brady now live in the home Roy and Jody built, you can contact them through email: stay@bluemountainbb.com

STORY EXCERPS: from Roy’s unpublished book, Bittersweet Years.

 (Dedicated to Roy’s extended family, close friends and colleagues)

Yellowstone Park was central to a lot of Roy’s family history. It was where his granduncle, Olaf “Ole” Adolph Andersson, started the first curio store at Mammoth after helping build the Northern Pacific Rail Line. Roy’s collection of family antiques includes several horseshoes coated in the hot mineral water from the park’s pools and terraces (which Ole sold to tourists). Ole took some of the first photos in the park on his glass-plate Eastman camera and learned English well enough to be a tour guide. Yellowstone offers pamphlets about Ole to those who visit the park.

-The America chest that Ole’s wife, Christina, brought from Sweden is still in the family. Prior to their marriage, she was told to keep everything in her trunk at night in case of fire. Luckily she heeded these words. One night, the boarding house she was in did catch fire. She quickly slid the chest down the stairs to safety. Inside the trunk was everything she owned.

-Roy’s grandparents, Axel Wilhelm Anderson and Susanna Andersdotter, operated a dairy farm for the Grand Canyon Hotel. One winter (around 1888), Susanna chased a dark-colored “dog” away from the kitchen garbage. After describing it, she was told it was likely a wolverine. Wolverines are scavengers and have been known to get into garbage. While smaller than a bear (25-40 pounds), a wolverine’s attitude can more than make up for this difference in size.

-Roy’s paternal grandparents had a homestead near Wilsall, Montana. By about 1916, it was flourishing enough that they hired a Swedish craftsman to help construct an actual house and barn (to replace the initial, very meager shelters they started with.) By the mid 1920’s, crop failures resulted in foreclosure. Over sixty percent of homesteads in Montana collapsed at this time. Roy’s father Emil Anderson, being the oldest, set off on his own with the horses and farm equipment to work in Yellowstone.

-Roy’s father, Emil, spent two summers in Yellowstone Park helping to build the road over Dunraven Pass, an elevation of 8,859 feet. He operated the horse-powered graders and sprinkler wagons. On one occasion, a spooky lead mare apparently mistook an oil drum for a bear. She bolted sideways, which had a domino effect. All eight horses plunged down the embankment. It was a miracle that there were no serious injuries! Emil freed the horses and they went scrambling and slipping up the slope to safety. With the blade operator's help and a pulley cable, the grader was brought back up on the road as well. Instead of calling it “a day” Roy’s father insisted they continue working until normal quitting time.

-Roy had a few bear encounters over his lifetime, the most interesting happened on a trip to Yellowstone with some college friends. As the group was sleeping at Fishing Bridge Campground under the stars, Roy awoke to the screams of other campers close by. Out of nowhere, a bear ran over Roy as he lay in his sleeping bag. He said it startled him, but happened so fast it wasn’t frightening, just very memorable!

Roy’s younger years revolved around his family’s potato farm and his time spent at school. He recalled many interesting times with his brother, including winter bobsledding to Cedar Point School with a team of horses and getting a bit beaten up by the grey gander, who was known to bully everything on the farm, including the bull!

Roy’s parents were married in 1927. His mom was 33 and his dad was 38! Before moving back to Rexburg, they spent a brief amount of time in Paradise, Montana, north of Missoula. They lived in a railroad outfit car, while Roy’s father worked as a steam shovel fireman. The car was always dirty with soot and had no insulation. While moving, it constantly jerked and rattled. On one occasion, the stove actually slid across the floor! Roy’s mother was very happy when they returned to Rexburg and her family.

-Potato harvesting and threshing times were a lot of work for everyone! The men worked in the fields and the women took turns making the meals, which meant cooking over a wood stove in the heat. Roy’s mom would often make fried chicken or Swedish hamburger with potatoes, gravy, a vegetable, bread and a dessert. Many of her recipes were written down by Jody, including her pickled beets and applesauce pudding cake, favorites for Roy.

-When Roy was about nine, he was assigned to scatter potato sacks for the workers in the field near his home. The situation was bound to fail from the start because it involved placing the sacks on the saddle of the horse, while sitting behind (no use of the stirrups). In his own words: “The sacks were piled so high I could hardly see over them. Also, it was hard to manipulate the reins with one hand while steadying and scattering the sacks with the other. I had just gotten started when Babe (the mare) wheeled around and took off for the barn at a lope… I hung on for dear life… Luckily she stopped right outside the barn door because the roof was not high enough for a rider!” Roy ended up scattering the sacks by hand, but couldn’t keep up with the workers’ needs so someone else eventually took over.

-Roy loved going to Cedar Point School and read everything he could get his hands on during his first through eighth grade years. One of Roy's most vivid memories was when his classmates went to see “The Wizard of Oz”. He reflected on that experience throughout his life. The few movies he had seen were in black and white. The moment when Dorothy emerged into the technicolor magic of Munchkin Land was one of pure amazement! Movies were a true luxury for Roy and his siblings; his family just didn’t have much money. Sometimes his bachelor uncles would take the siblings and cousins as a treat. Roy’s love for watching movies continued into his adulthood and in the rare moments when he relaxed, he either read, wrote poetry or enjoyed a show.

-One year, Roy’s father, who was the school janitor and handyman for their community school, was asked to add an addition to the roof. Nothing went to waste in those days and so the pigeons roosting in the bell tower were messily gathered by his brother and him, put into gunnysacks, and soon after, baked in a pie!

-Roy loved any kind of pie, although he never requested one made of pigeon again. He was particularly fond of black current, a recipe from his Uncle Art Swecker (Hal Meng’s grandfather). Art gained his cooking skills in a very unique way. In desperate need of a job, he asked about openings at an irrigation project site. He was told they had no labor jobs but the cook had just walked off that morning. Uncle Art, who had probably only cooked for himself, stated that he was very experienced and would take the job. He was about to become experienced in a hurry! By noon, he was feeding over a hundred men. Art ended up with a reputation for being one of the best pie makers in the Rexburg area! Roy’s patch of red and black current bushes are still in his garden and every year, Jody or Brady would make him a pie.

Roy’s Uncle Carl had a farm some thirty miles from the Rexburg home. It needed no irrigation in the summer and thus was known as “the Dryfarm.” Roy loved the freedom, quiet and beautiful surroundings; the creek bottom that fluttered with butterflies and the groves of aspen, chokecherry and serviceberry there. It was the trip to and from the Dryfarm that was arduous, but Roy never told his stories with any kind of complaint.

-Each spring, Roy and his brother would receive a tick vaccination since Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was so prevalent in the area (one of Jody’s relatives actually died of tick fever). Roy’s Aunt Vada Meng, who was a nurse, would normally give the vaccine to them a week in advance. On one occasion, however, their vaccinations were given the morning they left on their thirty mile ride to the Dryfarm. Roy had a pretty serious reaction, with fever and muscle aches. In the morning he was better, but spending twelve, rigid hours in the saddle gave him raw saddle sores that lasted a week. (An effective vaccine was actually developed at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana by 1924. Now, antibiotics are used after the fact.)

-Roy’s most serious experience was on a return trip from the Dryfarm in January, just before his 9th birthday. For some reason, he ended up returning home unaccompanied (thirty miles in the cold). Roy was riding Old Rainbow and driving five horses (eventually, the driven horses had to be left beside the road). Luckily, Old Rainbow was faithful and knew the way back after dark, which almost certainly saved Roy’s life. When the horse came to a sudden halt, he realized they were back home, but was too cold to get off. Roy’s father ran out to help him, shocked by the situation. Roy only suffered minor frostbite, but ended up in bed for almost a week. He still looked forward to going back to the Dryfarm no matter what occurred. He loved his time in nature and time spent with his uncles!

-One of the most uncomfortable experiences for both Roy and his brother was the year their Uncle Carl decided to harvest the wild cheatgrass. As you can imagine, it was a disaster. The needle-sharp grass dug into their socks the entire time they worked. It certainly wasn’t good feed for the horses and they refused to eat it. Luckily they did refuse, since the sharp barbed seed heads can get stuck in a horse’s throat.

-The day after Thanksgiving, in 1940, Roy and his father left for the Dryfarm on a mission to bring the work horses back home for the winter. Within four miles of the Dryfarm, the old Dodge quit running, so they left it and hiked in. The next morning, they harnessed the horses and led them down to the car. Unfortunately, the car still wouldn’t start. Roy’s father simply fastened the harness tugs to the front of the bumper, put the horse lines through the cranked-open windshield and started down the road. He held the lines in one hand and steered the car with the other! He hoped that this might start the car. When the car still wouldn’t start, he tied the other team of two horses to the back bumper and kept going down to the highway. Eventually they had to leave the car and walk the rest of the 30 miles home, each leading two horses all the way.

-Roy’s Uncle Carl had many memorable stories of living on the Dryfarm. One time, he and his father, Lars Bood, had a stranger come onto their property asking for a drink of water. Carl was a young boy and asked the man if he could look at his fancy six shooter. The man let him look at it and then took a dime from his pocket, stuck it on a fence post, backed up about fifteen paces and blasted the dime in one shot. He extracted the spent cartridge and gave it to Carl, who kept it for years afterward. A few days later, they learned that a man fitting the stranger’s description had robbed a bank in Rigby and was likely headed for the known outlaw hideout in Jackson Hole.

-As an adult, Roy’s Uncle Carl had several close lightning encounters. On one occasion, he was riding horseback on a hill above the Dryfarm. The next thing he remembered was waking up in bed, with his chaps and spurs still on. Later he learned that two days had passed since the storm had struck. The horse was fine, but Carl had a very stiff neck thereafter. Carl finished his story by saying “If I’d died, at least it would have been with (my) boots on.”

-The following is one of the most delightful stories about the Dryfarm and perfect to end with! In 1939, Roy’s Aunt Alice, a teacher, came to the Dryfarm to collect butterflies for a biology project. The creek bottom was perfect because of the stinging nettle which the butterflies were drawn to. Alice, her sister Vada, their mother Bertha, along with Roy and his brother Lorin, all pitched in, using straw hats for nets. After a while, the farm dog, Woofie, joined in as well. He would jump into the air and catch them in his mouth! They certainly weren’t the best specimens, but it was a fun day for all. Roy had a special bond with Woofie and talked a lot about him in his later years. While living in Montana, one of the Anderson family dogs inherited the name. Another one of their dogs was nicknamed “The Huckleberry Hound.” Roy’s sentimental and humorous sides each came through in many ways during his lifetime. Both were very endearing aspects of his personality and luckily can live on through the stories he told.

Roy’s book Bittersweet Years is filled with additional stories that have never been published. Feel free to contact the family if you would like more. stay@bluemountainbb.com

The family also has extra copies of No Longer Silent, which can be donated to a school or kept in one’s personal library.