R. David Anacker

R. David Anacker Passed away at his San Francisco Bay Area home, on May 23rd, 2007 following a brief and unexpected battle with pancreatic cancer. He was surrounded by his children, when he died at age 71. Born in Minneapolis, MN, in 1935 to parents Don and MaryElla as the oldest of three siblings: brothers Don and Jon. Much of his fondly remembered childhood was in Elk River, MN, where he attended Elk River Grade School in the late 1940s. Anacker attended Bellevue High School in Bellevue, WA and graduated in 1954 before going on to Washington State University on a football scholarship. He was actively involved in athletics and student government in high school including football, track and field. He graduated from Washington State in 1959 with a Business and Economics BA. He married his first wife Barbara J. Lee, the mother of his four children, in 1960. She preceded him in death in 2004. He was recruited by American Building Maintenance (ABM) as a management trainee directly out of school working in Portland, OR, in 1959, before working his way up to President and CEO 25 years later. Anacker held a range of positions within ABM before being appointed President and CEO in 1984, positions he held through 1991. He was a member of Young Presidents Association (YPO) and World Presidents Association (WPO), served on a range of board of directors in various industries including Grubb & Ellis Co. and LAKOS Claude Laval Corporation. He also worked with the College of Business Development at WSU later in life, reconnecting with his alma mater in the role of National Board of Advisors member and mentor. He served on the WSU Foundation Board of Governors. In 1988, Anacker along with several partners became part owner of Veriflo Corporation (Richmond, CA) after an acquisition by B.A.G. Acquisition Ltd. He enjoyed working as Vice President of Sales in the company, which was sold to Parker Hannifin Corporation (Cleveland, OH) in 1998. He stayed on with the company as Business Development Specialist, Office of the President, for Parker Hannifin Corporation's Instrumentation Group. While he was widely known as "the consummate manager," he was even more well known as someone who really cared about people in both business and private life. Anacker was a member of The Family Club in San Francisco and Woodside, CA, where he was part of Camp 55. He always had a great interest in cars and his cars were always impeccable. His first car was a 1948 Buick and later in life he enjoyed his Ferrari and being an F1 racing enthusiast. He was an avid golfer and member of the San Francisco Golf Club (SF, CA) and Tradition Golf Club (La Quinta, CA). His favorite memory on the golf course was a hole-in-one at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. He also enjoyed his long tenure as a committee member for the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame which honors sports legends to benefit Bay Area youth sports programs. Anacker is survived by his four children, Scott, Matt, Stephanie and Christine; his wife Janice, whom he married in 1988; his younger brothers Don and Jon; and his mother-in-law Lillian Lee. He is also survived by his two granddaughters, Nicole and Tess. The family requests donations be directed to either of the following cancer research funds: For Gastrointestinal Cancer Research: In memo section write: "Dr. Emily Bergsland/G.I. Research". Mail check to: Pamela Gonzales, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1600 Divisadero Street #A701, San Francisco, CA 94115, UCSF Box 1770. For Sarcoma Cancer Research: SARC, Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration, 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, P.O. Box 406, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, Federal ID 86-1087705.