Keith Anderson

Keith Anderson passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 2. He was 94 years old.

Keith Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota, in 1930 to Swedish immigrant parents, Jennie and Gottfried Anderson. He was the only boy of six children. His sisters were Iris, Joanie, Ollie, Betty, and Janice. Keith hated the frigid North Dakota winters. He would always say he had to, "Walk to school, barefoot in the snow, uphill, both ways." As soon as he finished college, he packed up his things and drove a one-way driveaway Ford Thunderbird straight to California, where he knew the sun was shining and the weather was warm.

A few years after he arrived in California, he married Deborah Ann Wilson, and they had two wonderful children, Kimberly and Clayton.

His varied jobs included pharmaceuticals salesman and manager for Gemco and Lucky stores in the 1970s. In 1988, he bought a cinnamon roll food concession with his second wife, Sharon Anderson. They traveled to fairs around the eastern half of the U.S. and took pride in the quality and taste of their cinnamon rolls, which became very popular at the fairs. The cinnamon rolls were, in fact, very delicious.

Keith was passionate about fishing. He preferred ocean fishing (he said it was because the fish are bigger), but he enjoyed freshwater fishing too. He often took his two children out on Newport Bay to fish for Bonito. Later in his life, his nephew Mark took him trout fishing every year in Montana. Keith also had a sailplane pilot's license and enjoyed flying sailplanes at Hemet-Ryan Airport.

After his cinnamon roll business, he and Sharon retired to Bakersfield. He loved his yard and spent a lot of time making it look good. He had a wide range of music tastes, from Neil Diamond to Mahalia Jackson spiritual albums.

Keith was prone to telling corny jokes. Every time he passed a cemetery, he'd tell anyone he was with, "Ya know, people are just dying to get in there."

Keith Anderson had a long and interesting life. He is loved and will be missed dearly by his friends and family.