- Date Of Birth: July 12, 1932
- Date Of Death: November 17, 2021
- State: New Mexico
Wayne Harley Anderson of Silver City passed away Wednesday, November 17th with his family by his side. He was 89 years young. He was born July 12th,1932 to Harley L. Anderson and Lillian Deutchman Anderson in Westbrook, Minnesota. He grew up on the family farm and had great stories to tell about his life on the farm. After high school graduation, he joined the AirForce and he served his country proudly. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force with many medals, one being a Korean War Service Medal.
After returning home from the Air Force, he attended the University of Minnesota Business College and received a degree in Business Management. He later attended Minnesota Technical College and took classes to become a certified teacher of Vocational Technology for Machinists. He told a story that he was offered a job to teach vocational classes and was excited about this until they told him they wanted him to teach during hunting seasons so the teachers could be off work to hunt. He said that he had to decline the job offer because there was no way he wasn’t going to be out hunting too. During his career, he was a machinist by trade and worked for many years for FMC. While employed at FMC, he received many certifications in machining and was a qualified precision grinder, as well as he maintained the machining center. He also was employed for a time as a truck driver. For a part of his career, he traveled in a sales position visiting different parts of the country. The Air Force taught him the love of flying and in the late 1960’s he began taking classes for his pilot’s license. He did receive his pilot’s license and learned how to mechanic on small plane engines. In his younger days, he was an avid trap and skeet shooter. He was a lifetime member of the United States Sporting Clay Association, the National Skeet Shooting Association, and the Amateur Trapshooting Association. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and hiking. In fact, he was still hiking well into his late 80’s. In the 90s he traveled out West and fell in love with the beautiful wild west country and he decided to make it his home. He had a real passion for the outdoors. Wayne was a free spirit and enjoyed roaming and exploring the mountains. His favorite place on earth was the Cooke Mountain Range in Deming. In the late 90s, he came to Silver City and walked into Rough Country Outdoor Gear. He and Ron struck up a fast friendship and he soon began working part-time in the store. He worked for Ron for over 20 years before he actually retired. The joke at Rough Country Outdoor Gear was that he walked into the store one day, talked to Ron and then he just never left. Wayne became family to the Cook’s and they to him. Wayne had many friends and made new friends everywhere he went. When he worked at Rough Country Outdoor Gear, he had quite the following of gentlemen who came to visit and tell tall tales with him.
He is survived by his family Ronald and Leslie Cook and their children and families: Jacob, Kalondra, Martin, Veronica, and Kayden, as well as many good friends he met along the way. He was preceded in death by his parents Harley L Anderson & Lillian Deutchman Anderson, and his sister LaVonne. Wayne was a wonderful friend and will be truly missed by all.
