Rodney Kent Anderson

Rodney "Rod" Kent Anderson, an artist, U.S. Air Force vet, teacher, pilot, and whimsical father, died in Minocqua, Wisconsin, on February 22, 2025. He was 86 years old.

Rod was born during the Great Depression on May 31, 1938, in Sioux City, IA, to Bernice Lillian (Haggblade) and Alfred Selmer Anderson. Alfred, a lifelong railroad man, abandoned the family after a period of alcoholic irresponsibility that led to lost jobs and crashed cars. Rod and his younger sister, Karen, were raised by their indomitable mother, Bernice, and their grandparents, Josephine (Plumer) and Oscar Haggblade. Remembered as a "grumpy old Swede," Oscar was Rod's primary paternal role model. Bernice found work in Madison, Wisconsin, and Freeport, Illinois, where Rod graduated high school in 1956.

Rod enlisted in the United States Air Force and served at Johnston Island Air Force Base, 860 miles southwest of Hawaii. During his time there, he witnessed nuclear weapons testing on the atoll. He later transferred to Clark Air Force Base in Luzon, Philippines. While stationed at Clark, Rod met Angel Glorioso, who became the mother of his first child, Karen (Trevino) Johnson. After their relationship ended, Rod returned home alone, keeping his child's existence a secret.

Rod-sometimes styled El Rodrigo or Elrod-enrolled at Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1961, he met Mary Jane Barranco on a blind date while he was studying to be an art teacher and she was studying to be a nurse at St. Mary's School of Nursing in Milwaukee. One of their dates resulted in Mary Jane's getting suspended for missing curfew.

Rod and Mary Jane married in December 1961. In October 1962, their son Brian was born during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the hottest chapter of the Cold War. Three daughters followed, each born during a crisis: Rebecca in November '63 (JFK's assassination), Sara in November '65 (the northeastern U.S. power blackout), and Jeannine in April '68 (shortly after Martin Luther King's assassination).

Circa 1967, Rod and Mary Jane bought a tiny ranch house in a Sturtevant subdivision where backyards with matchstick trees and visible sod lines bordered soybean fields. Built by a sculptor, the house boasted a unique feature-a cavernous solarium Rod used as his art studio while pursuing a Master's in fine art at UW-Milwaukee. This space, barely heated and prone to chilly drafts, was illuminated by a large, albeit leaky, skylight that added character and occasional inconvenience to his creative sanctuary. Outside, he planted a mountain ash tree in the front yard that would grow to become the biggest tree on the block. In 1970, seeking a neighborhood with bigger trees, Rod moved the family to New Berlin. There, he indulged in a midlife Mustang with a non-functioning spotlight, purchased from a sheriff's deputy, followed by an awkward, chunky Penguin-class sailboat.

Shortly after capsizing the Penguin on a cruise with his beloved father-in-law, A.J. Barranco (both survived uninjured), Rod and Mary Jane divorced. Over the years, they gave conflicting accounts of who divorced whom and why. Each claimed it was the other who asked for the divorce after 11 years of marriage. Rod's lasting regret was losing his relationship with A.J., a man who exemplified the nurturing and insightful fatherhood Rod had never experienced in his youth.

Newly single, Rod moved to Mukwonago in 1972 and East Troy in 1974. He stayed there until 1990, when he found a wooded property on the shore of East Horsehead Lake in Harshaw, Wisconsin. Over the next few years, Rod accrued sweat equity in the property as he built a basic home with the help of friends. Rod even sank the well using a muscle-powered sand point. He acknowledged the quality of the carpentry work was occasionally "twisted." Rod's building partner would put matters in perspective by saying, "Hey, we're not building the Pfister Hotel here." And thus, the house in Harshaw became known as the Twisted Pfister.

Rod's insatiable curiosity and love for gadgets led to a memorable misadventure in 1969. At the 7 Mile Fair, he purchased a bottle cap crimper mounted on an old wooden crate for a dollar. Inspired, he brewed a batch of malt liquor using malt syrup and baker's yeast. Shortly after he capped them, the bottles exploded one after the other in a random bombardment, like a minefield visited by a shambling swarm of zombies. Donning fencing gear for protection, he spent a sleepless night disposing of the volatile brew. When asked how it tasted, he replied, "Yeast."

Rod's fascination with gadgets extended to fitness. Once, feeling "mid-life chubby," he purchased a clear plastic inflatable girdle, convinced it would melt fat as he jogged around the Greenfield Park lagoon on crisp fall mornings. In his later years, Rod found solace in his recumbent bicycle. Even when weakened by cancer, the recumbent bike allowed Rod to experience the simple pleasure of outdoor cycling, providing a sense of normalcy and independence.

In 1976, Rod brought the kids and his girlfriend on a two-week trip in his pickup truck across the eastern United States to celebrate the bicentennial year. They endured foot-flattening visits to obscure museums, Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefields, campgrounds, and colonial cemeteries featuring headstones with grinning, winged skulls and tenting. So much tenting. Known to this day as 'The Trip,' it brought the family closer together and was the source of many stories.

In the late 1970s, Rod discovered a new passion for flying single-engine airplanes. After a few costly aircraft purchases, he fell in love with a three-seater Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser and mastered its strengths as a hardy, capable aircraft. Rod poured his heart into restoring N3083M, affectionately known as "Three Zero Eight Three Mike." His dedication was evident in his work replacing the wing's weather-damaged dope-and-fabric skin in his cramped basement. Rod also actively participated in the Rhinelander NAA "Colorama" Fly-In, where he enjoyed sharing his passion for aviation with others and showcasing N3083M, one of the great loves of his life.

Despite his flying prowess, Rod was the worst driving teacher any of his children remember having. It is worth noting that he partly put himself through college by working as a driving instructor. But he had no patience with his children and would correct them by jerking the steering wheel out of their grips as they grappled with his heavyweight pickup truck, which had a three-on-the-tree gearshift, jiggly accelerator, and sloppy clutch.

Rod formed relationships with intelligent, lively, capable women at every turn. Angel went on to grow her family in a long and loving marriage. His wife, Mary Jane, a registered nurse, exemplified strength and grace as she raised their four children single-handedly. His girlfriend, Shirley Baggot, accompanied him and the children on The Trip and was a major contributor to its success. Doris Kieweg, his companion later in life, is the fierce, tireless caretaker of three generations of children.

Rod tried things, learned things, and took chances. He taught art in the West Allis Public Schools system for 30 years. He could drill a well, fly a tail-dragger aircraft, paint a portrait, edit home movies, identify birds by ear, and sail on Lake Shishebogama. In the days before electronic ignition in cars, Rod removed his ignition points and installed new ones. After putting it all together, he discovered that a small handful of nuts, bolts, and washers remained in the coffee can. Joking at his own expense, he said, "Oh boy! Only four parts left over!" His sense of humor was something his children aspired to match.

Born in Iowa, Rod cherished the north woods of Wisconsin, with interludes that took him across the globe. The Air Force stationed him in the Central Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia, while his passion for genealogy led him to explore his roots in Norway and England. Rod and Doris embarked on a four-year sojourn in Homosassa, Florida, charmed by the manatees and the promise of warm weather. However, the allure of Wisconsin's natural beauty and strong ties to family and friends ultimately called them back home. When asked if he missed his Florida community, Rod recounted his relief at escaping the peculiar neighbor who obsessively power-washed his mailbox every morning.

The practical and emotional aspects of fatherhood were elusive for Rod. He charmed his young children by writing their names in mustard on burgers, yet he struggled with basic responsibilities as they got older. Despite not attending school events, he fostered a deep love of nature in his kids through cross-country skiing at Kettle Moraine State Park and Old World Wisconsin. Rod's inconsistency made planning difficult, but he uniquely exposed his children to art, culture, and the wider world.

Though often absent from his children's lives, Rod was undeniably a better man than his fugitive father. Around 1970, Rod reconnected with Alfred, driving his entire family to Lima, Ohio, for a brief reunion. However, Alfred soon slipped from his life, abandoning him again. Decades later, Rod's genealogy research revealed that his father had died in 1992. When asked what he felt upon learning this, Rod replied mildly, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

In contrast to his father's abandonment, when Karen Johnson found Rod in her thirties, he was overjoyed by his newly expanded family. Despite his imperfections as a parent, this stark difference highlighted Rod's capacity for love and engagement.

Above all, Rod was a complex human being. He enriched the lives of his family, students, and friends. We, his children, gained from his strengths and his shortcomings. We learned to be flexible. We nurtured an appreciation for nature and the arts. We learned to laugh at the absurdities of life. We learned from the PBS programs that were constantly playing on his television. So much PBS! Our challenges as his children forged a solidarity that has survived everything. And we learned from him the value of striving to improve.

Rod Anderson taught us that life is an adventure, an odyssey filled with countless side quests. We welcome these, as he did. Like our father, we share these experiences with the ones we love.

Rod was preceded in death by his unnamed stillborn brother, his parents Bernice and Alfred Anderson, and his niece, Natalie Tsoris. He will be missed by his former partner and stalwart friend Doris Kieweg of Minocqua, WI; sister Karen Tsoris of Milwaukee, WI; cousin Tom Christensen of Joplin, MO; children Karen Johnson (Jeff) of Dallas, TX, Brian Anderson (Erika) of Madison, WI, Rebecca Anderson of Blanchardville, WI, Sara Anderson Mooney of Darlington, WI, and Jeannine Anderson Hisel (Jay) of Lansing, IA; former son-in-law Mike Mooney of Platteville, WI; grandchildren Jaclyn Lovicott (Dominic), Taylor Johnson, Devon Blizzard (Alex), Jesse Hisel (Shelby), Emily Hisel, Sam Hisel, Ben Mooney, and Simon Anderson; great-grandchildren Harper Lovicott, Emery Lovicott, August Lovicott, Greyson Johnson, Eleanor Hisel, and Eloise Hisel; niece Renatta Oldeen of Ladysmith, WI; niece Stephanie Tsoris of Oconomowoc, WI; and nephew Greg Tsoris of Mundelein, IL.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Holy Family Catholic Church in Minocqua. The family thanks the staff of Marshfield Medical Center Hospital in Minocqua for their compassionate care of Rod in his last hours.