LARRY ANDERSON

1940 - 2018

Larry Wayne Anderson 1940 - 2018 Nationally renowned Tacoma sculptor and painter Larry Anderson, 78, passed away on Thursday, October 18, 2018, at his home in Bonney Lake after a long illness. Born in Tacoma on September 30, 1940, he was the only child of Orville Franklin Anderson and Gladys Pearl (Russell) Anderson. He attended McKinley Elementary, Gault Junior High, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1958. A pole vaulter in high school, he went to Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon on an athletic scholarship. After two years at Lewis and Clark, he transferred to Central Washington University in Ellensburg, receiving a bachelor's degree in education in 1962. He pursued graduate study in art at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna, Austria in 1965, and at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1966. He completed a Master of Fine Arts in painting at the Cranbrook Art Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 1968. He was an art teacher in Tacoma at Foss High School before launching his career as a sculptor. His first major work was "The Leaf" (1975). This was followed by "Trilogy" (1978). Both sculptures were commissioned by the City of Tacoma and are situated in Wright Park. Many other public sculptures are located in Tacoma. They include "Clearing the Way" in Fireman's Park, "New Beginnings" in front of Union Station, and "Coming Home" at South 56th and South Tacoma Way, all in 1984, Tacoma's centennial year. Others in Tacoma include "The Second Touch" a fountain figure at MultiCare Medical Center (1981), "A Fish Story" in front of Slovonian Hall in Old Town (2002), and "We Honor a Hero" on North I Street at Lowell Elementary (2003). Major works in the US include "Springfield's Lincoln", an ensemble of statues of Abe and Mary Lincoln and two of their boys in Springfield, Illinois (2004); "Continuum", with seven distinct life-size sculptures of people and animals, at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in West Lafayette, Indiana (2000); and "Directions" at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (1995). Larry's many bronze sculptures, over 70 in all, comprise a huge legacy of full-size figures and portrait busts. His paintings and drawings are also voluminous and include both realistic and abstract expressionist works. Larry is survived by his high-school sweetheart and beloved wife of 56 years Sharilyn Lea (Hoard) Anderson, daughters Kristen Murphy (Sean) of Tacoma and Marti Jane Anderson (Arden Miller) of Auckland, New Zealand, son Caplan Anderson (Mary McEwen) of Juneau, Alaska, and three grandchildren, Aldwyn James Anderson Miller, Ramona Jane Anderson, and Daphne Read McEwen. The family traveled extensively, and lived abroad in both Austria and France. Their French exchange student, Ludovic Arnould, with his wife EmmanuŠle and children Camille and Manon, also became members of the family. Larry leaves not only an inspiring legacy of fine art. He was a humanist, a romantic, and an excellent friend. He was full of integrity, optimism, good humor, humility, elegance, joy and faith a true lover of life. A memorial service and reception will be held at Kilworth Memorial Chapel on the University of Puget Sound campus at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 21. Burial will be at Tacoma Cemetery.