Walter Anderson

Walter Burke Anderson, MD

May 9, 1933 June 17, 2021

Walter Burke Anderson, MD passed away peacefully on June 17, 2021, in Lompoc.

He was born in 1933 in Santa Barbara, CA to the gifted pianist and composer Grace Burke Anderson and Lompoc town doctor Walter Marius Anderson, MD. With his twin brother John Richard Anderson, he graduated from Lompoc High School in 1951.

Burke completed his medical studies at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Southern California. Between his junior and senior years, he was won over by Registered Nurse, Beverly Joan Ekroth, and the two were married in Pasadena in 1960. His internship was taken at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California General Hospital.

Picking up his fathers practice at the office that had been vacated since the elder Andersons death in 1957, he began general practice in Lompoc in 1962 tending to the medical needs of a town booming with Vandenberg Air Force Bases space program. However, he is best remembered for his leadership at Lompoc Hospitals Emergency Services, which he directed from 1976 to 1989.

Burke and Joan raised three children in Lompoc, William Burke, who practices patent law in Carlsbad, CA; Steven Craig, who runs his own engineering company in Lompoc; and Jennifer, who writes and publishes in San Francisco under the pen name Jen Burke Anderson.

In 1981, he tragically lost his twin brother, John Richard Anderson, who had made his career as a newspaper journalist, working both for the Lompoc Record and Santa Barbara Newspress. The two had been inseparable companions and confidants, and it was the greatest loss in Burkes life.

He was a member of the Vaqueros de los Ranchos, again following his dads footsteps. The elder Anderson had been a Charter Member of the group in 1938. His other enthusiasms ranged from the stock market, World War II History, train travel and singing. He loved the Lord.

Before leaving practice in 1998, he turned to traditional family practice with the Valley Medical Group. One of his fondest memories was the VMGs retirement gift to him: a flight over the Central Coast in a B17G bomber, The Flying Fortress as it was fondly known.

Burkes last years were spent at home with the family he loved so dearly: Joan and his son Steve, with visit and support from his son Bill, daughter-in-law Kay, and their children, Samantha, Scott and Seth, Burkes youngest, Jen; and affectionate nieces and nephews from Burbank to Berlin. They will miss his humor, brilliance, and wisdom, and are grateful to have had him in their lives.

Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, August 7, at 1:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Lompoc, 925 North F Street, with Pastor Jose Vasquez of Lompoc Seventh-day Adventist Church, officiating. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Lompoc Hospital District Foundation, P.O. Box 883, Lompoc, CA 93438, or charity of your choice.