John Edward Anderson Jr.

March 8, 1950 - May 8, 2024 John Anderson Jr. was born on March 8, 1950 in Los Angeles, to parents John and Margaret "Peggy" Anderson. John had four siblings: Susan, Judith, Deborah and William. The family lived in the San Fernando Valley before moving to the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles during John's elementary school years. He attended Third Street School and Harvard Boys School for grade school and middle school, respectively. John's family were members of Beverly Vista Presbyterian Church (later merged with Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church), where his maternal grandfather, Dr. James K. Stewart, served as the minister. As a child at Beverly Vista, John met Doreen "Dori" Dodson, who would later become the love of his life and wife of 48 years.
John's high school years were spent at The Thacher School in Ojai, California. He played on the school's soccer team, and excelled in history and music. John developed a love of horses while at Thacher, and enjoyed a great deal of success in the school's gymkhana competitions. As a horseman, he had special intuition and "great hands" – which served him well on the golf course in his later years. Throughout his life, John (and his family and close friends) considered him an honorary cowboy of sorts. During his time at Thacher, John experienced several family tragedies, with the passing in close succession of his mother Peggy, his grandmother Margaret, and his sister Debbie. After completing his studies at Thacher, Ojai remained a special place to John, and he enjoyed spending time over the years there on his family's citrus and avocado ranch.
John graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in History, and earned a second undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. While living in Santa Barbara, John worked in a hands-on role, helping children with special needs. After moving back to Los Angeles, John began dating his childhood sweetheart, Dori Dodson, and they were married in 1975. Both earned MBA degrees from the business school at UCLA, which would later be renamed "UCLA Anderson School of Management" after John's father, John E. Anderson. In the years that followed, John and Dori had four sons: John III, Michael, James and Kevin.
John worked for Arthur Andersen LLP, before joining his father in their family business, Topa Equities Ltd. (now "Anderson Holdings"), in 1978. John led Ace Beverage Co., Topa's Los Angeles-area Anheuser-Busch distributorship, for over 35 years. Ace experienced significant growth during John's tenure, as the Budweiser brands became global leaders. John oversaw the acquisition of several local distributors, consolidating much of the greater Los Angeles market, and led the expansion of Ace's brand portfolio to include many leading domestic and imported beverage brands. John was President of the California Beer Wholesalers Association and was a respected industry leader. John also served as Topa's Vice Chairman, overseeing its real estate, insurance, and automotive retail subsidiaries, in addition to its growing beverage division, which expanded to include businesses in Hawaii, the US Virgin Islands, and Los Angeles. John was a respected and beloved leader at Topa, who conducted himself with integrity and humility. He was very active in non-profit organizations throughout his career. He served as President of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, Chairman of the Board of Carlthorp School, and was involved in Young Presidents Organization (YPO), among other non-profit and community affiliations.
John had an active Christian faith, and served in various leadership roles in churches and ministries. He was a truly devoted husband and father. Over the years, he coached his sons (and many other young people) in various sports, and enjoyed teaching his children and grandchildren to play golf. When John took a step back from day-to-day responsibilities at Topa in 2017, he and Dori moved to Indian Wells, California. John finally had time to enjoy longer visits to his beloved Sun Valley, Idaho, where his extended family had vacationed for over forty years. Most importantly, he continued to focus on his role as a loving husband, father and grandfather, and on giving back to the local community. Despite a difficult battle with ALS over the last two years of his life, John's faith remained strong, and he never lost his sense of humor and fun-loving nature.
John passed away on May 8, 2024, peacefully and with family by his side. He is survived by his devoted wife Dori, three siblings (Susan McKinley, Judith Munzig, and William Anderson), four sons and daughters-in-law (John III and Shannon, Michael and Jillian, James and Laura, and Kevin and Lauren), and nine grandchildren who will miss their "Bumpa" tremendously.
For those who wish to make a donation in John's honor, his family requests that it be made to: Target ALS Foundation (targetals.org).