Paul David Andersen

PAUL DAVID ANDERSEN
Paul David Andersen, age 87 of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and formerly of Cherokee, IA, passed away Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at his residence in Hattiesburg. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at the Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home in Cherokee, IA. Pastor Philip Beisswenger will officiate. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cherokee, IA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Cherokee Public Library in Cherokee, IA. The Greenwood-Schubert Funeral Home in Cherokee, IA is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.greenwoodfuneral.com.
OBITUARY Paul David Andersen passed away on March 11, 2025 in Hattiesburg, MS. He was born on November 24, 1937 to Grace (Machamer) and Irving Andersen in Stanhope, IA. He spent his early years in Cherokee, IA where he graduated from Washington High school in 1956.
Dr. Andersen attended Drake University receiving the Bachelor of Music degree in 1960. He earned his Master of Music degree from Syracuse University in 1962, and his Ph.D from Washington University in St. Louis in 1968. From 1963 to 1965, he served as organist and choirmaster at the Church of St. Michael and St. George in St. Louis.
Dr. Andersen joined the faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi in 1965 and taught there until retiring as full Professor in 1999. While at the University, he held several positions including Graduate Council Chair, Assistant Dean of College of Fine Arts, and Acting Chair of the School of Music. He also served as organist and choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1968 to 1999. In 1989, Dr. Andersen was awarded sabbatical leave during which time he studied organ in Paris with Marie Claire Alain. In addition to classroom teaching, his organ studio produced many highly successful organists and church musicians.
Following his retirement in 1999, he was designated Professor Emeritus at USM and continued to serve as substitute organist in many churches in Hattiesburg and in his hometown of Cherokee. He held numerous music related positions including President of the Mississippi Music Teachers Association, Dean of the Southern Mississippi Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and served as a member of the Episcopal Diocesan Music Commission.
Paul was a man of many hobbies and interests. He traveled extensively in Europe and the United States. He owned and loved riding motorcycles, especially his Harley-Davidson. His knowledge base of past and current automobiles was impressive. He kept up with new tech and purchased sport and performance models for his daily drivers. He was a train enthusiast and was a member of the train club in Hattiesburg. Paul had a large friend base in Cherokee and Hattiesburg. He traveled between these towns to enjoy good times with friends.
Dr. Andersen was preceded in death by his parents, Grace and Irving Andersen. Sister Joan Andersen Steele and brother-in-law, Gordon Steele. Brother Tom Andersen and sister-in-law, Marguerite Andersen, and niece Cynthia Ray Terzian. He is survived by niece Martha Steele and her husband, Stephen Edwards of Overland Park, KS. Nephew Chris Andersen and wife Anne Meyer Andersen of Tulsa, OK. And many great nieces and great nephews.