Obituary of Raymond Victor Anderson

Raymond Victor Anderson, loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed into God's eternal glory at 1:15 AM on November 11, 2015 at the Heritage Green Rehab and Skilled Nursing Facility. An Alzheimer's patient for several years who survived cancer and a stroke has been released from his suffering. A member of First Baptist Church of Sherman and formerly of the Jamestown Christian and Missionary Alliance, he and his twin sister were born April 20, 1937, in Jamestown, NY, to Reinholt ("Ray") Victor Anderson and Maxine Dorothy Freeman. On August 26, 1960, he married Bessie Dianne Thor of Busti, NY, and together they had five children. A member of Jamestown High School Class of 1955, Ray worked two years on the family farm before graduating valedictorian from Jamestown Community College in 1959. He went on to attend Purdue University where he majored in chemical engineering and earned a B.S. in 1961. Graduating near the top of his class, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Omega Chi Epsilon honor fraternities. Ray was employed at Carborundum in Niagara Falls, NY, where he headed a research team that successfully developed boron nitride into a workable fiber, which found use as an insulator in extreme heat conditions, including jet and space-vehicle rocket engines. This innovation won several national awards and honors for Carborundum and Ray, who was the co-author of the patent. After leaving the Niagara Falls area he moved to Williamsville, NY where he started an engineer recruiting business. Upon returning to the Jamestown area, he became self-employed as a painting and construction contractor. Ray served the Lord, teaching youth and adult Sunday School, conducting Bible studies, and working with youth in the Christian Service Brigade for many years, and coaching church basketball and softball. He also worked closely with the late Congressman Jack Kemp to craft and pass a law curtailing corporations' ability to drop or to raid employee pension funds when the company was purchased. His father-in-law Ture Thor's personal case was cited on the floor of the U.S. Congress when arguing for the bill's passage. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Thomas Anderson and Donald Anderson, his sister Carolyn Anderson, and two sisters-in-law, Sharon Anderson and Sandy Anderson. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Bessie Anderson of Jamestown, four sons, Randall (Maureen) of Kennedy, Jonathan (Arlene) of Gerry, Mark (Karla) of Sublimity, Oregon, Evan (Chris) of Sherman, and his daughter Melissa (David) Meyers of Allegany, NY, and eight grandchildren whom he greatly loved and enjoyed: Michael and Robert Meyers; Katherine, Jillian, Rachel, Alexandria, Rebekah, and Ashley Anderson. He is also survived by two brothers, Louis Anderson of Bemus Point and Carl Anderson of Florida, and many nieces and nephews. The funeral service will be held at 11 AM Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Sherman. The Rev. Paul Sears will officiate. Burial will be in Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 PM Friday in the Lind Funeral Home and from 10:30 to 11 AM Saturday in the church. The family suggests that memorials be made to the Alzheimer's Association of Western New York or to the First Baptist Church of Sherman, and would like to give special thanks to Ray's caring staff at Heritage.