- Date Of Birth: September 14, 1926
- Date Of Death: October 5, 2018
- State: Illinois
With over nine decades on this earth, Nancy Anderson has been set free to embrace the art of the cosmos. Many of Nancy’s years were spent recreating moments lost for others – a child who had passed, an anniversary recaptured, a precious family pet, the list is long as her portraits grace the walls of homes throughout the Illinois Valley.
Nancy’s formal education began in Indiana at Ladywood until she graduated from DePauw University, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. With her newly minted degree, she set her sights on Chicago employed as a social worker followed by a time as a commercial artist for major department stores. On a double date with her fiance, she was introduced to her husband, Donald B. Anderson. In the fall of the following year, Nancy and Don were married in Greencastle, Indiana and headed to Niagara Falls. Their life settled in Peru, where Nancy had spent her childhood summering with her Aunts. Over time, seven children were born to Don and Nancy, and through the years, a Weimaraner, several Great Danes, litters of kittens, a flock of pigeons, rabbits and any other animals her children brought to their home.
As a member of the inter-faith society, Nancy added to her family in the summers taking in children from the then Cabrini Green projects on the south side of Chicago. Nancy taught art at Dimmick School, traveled art fairs throughout the Illinois Valley and eventually opened her own Studio in Peru. In pursuit of her art and with the passing of Don in 1984, Nancy sold the family home and moved west to live on a Mesa at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Taos, New Mexico. Nancy, a restless soul and a seeker of the new and novel, traveled extensively in United States, Europe and Russia. Her most memorable trip was with her dear friend, Kathy Innis sailing the Nile River and enjoying the pyramids of Egypt. As she aged, Nancy returned to the Illinois Valley where she volunteered her time and talents at the Carus-Hegler Mansion and the LaSalle County Historical Museum. Nancy eventually landed in Spring Valley where coincidentally six of her seven children were born.
On Friday, October 5, 2018, Nancy passed away in the home of Sarah and Joe, with her family, leaving behind her artistic talents to enhance our lives with a sense of awe, beauty and humor. She is preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Lucile (Lenzen) Cooper; her husband, Don and daughter, Catherine Elizabeth Anderson. Surviving are her children, Philae Amenti of Austin, Texas, Judi (Stephen) Shortridge of Jacksonville, Florida, Benet (Jeanette) of Peru, Valery (Robert) Calvetti of Ottawa, Barbara Anderson of Peru and Sarah (Joseph Harzheim) Anderson of Peru; seven grandchildren, Evan (Katherine) Anderson-Ebener, Jason (Stacey) Anderson-Ebener, Caitlin (Grant) Pomsl, Ian Shortridge, Emily and Ellen Anderson and Katherine Kaszynski; two great grandchildren, Christopher and Evander; her dear friends, Kathy Innis, Dorothy Debosik and the caring men and women residing in St. Margaret’s Hospital Independent Living.
