E.P. "Pete" Anderson

E.P. "Pete" Anderson

E.P. "Pete" Anderson of Piedmont passed away on December 21, 2014 after a short illness. He was 86.

Pete, known to many as the Big Man, was at once a devoted family man, an exceptionally loyal friend, a respected real estate developer, a world-traveling fly fisher, a sports aficionado and a raconteur with few peers.

He is survived by his wife Barbara Anderson whom he married in 1998.

Pete was born September 1, 1928 in Bronxville, NY to C. Peter Anderson and Viola Ellsworth Anderson. Shortly thereafter, the family returned to California, settling in Piedmont, where Pete was educated from grammar through high school. He graduated from Piedmont High School in 1946 where he was a member of the basketball team, earning Alameda County Athletic League All-Star honors in his junior and senior years.

Pete had a lifelong affinity for Piedmont and Piedmont High. He served on the veteran's committee for the Piedmont High School Sports Hall of Fame and was instrumental in keeping the class of 1946 in touch by serving on reunion committees and organizing annual luncheons.

Pete started UC Berkeley in the fall of 1946 where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. His studies at Cal were interrupted by the Korean War and his call up from the National Guard to active U.S. Army duty, where he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He returned to Cal in the fall of 1952 and graduated in 1953.

Following college, Pete embarked on a 60-year real estate career, starting as assistant manager for real estate loans at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1960, Pete joined The Draper Companies, a developer of shopping centers. It was at Draper where Pete began working with his younger brother Jack B. Anderson in the shopping center business, including development of the Northgate Mall in San Rafael and the Del Monte Shopping Center in Monterey.

Pete and Jack left Draper in 1966 to form Commercial Real Estate Service (CRES), which specializes in shopping center development, leasing and management. Notable CRES developments include the Serra Shopping Centers in Colma, the Crossroads in Carmel and the initial phase of the Gilroy Outlets in Gilroy.

In addition to his wife, Barbara, Pete is survived by his brother Jack and his wife Diane, and his sister Ellin Firth and her husband Bob. He was adored by his nieces and nephews Catherine Hughes, Elizabeth Hughes Simonetti, Ellin Anderson Purdom, John B. Anderson and Michael D. Anderson and their families.

He was predeceased by his children, Peter Blair Anderson and Jeanne Patricia Anderson, who died in 1977 and 1991, respectively.

Few things gave Pete more joy than fly fishing, which he practiced for a lifetime. He fished and made lifelong friends throughout the western United States and Alaska and in far-flung places including Argentina, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Russia.

Pete's favorite fishing destination was New Zealand where he traveled for more than 30 years. Barbara joined Pete on the rivers after their marriage, and for 17 years they made annual trips to New Zealand, which they considered their second home.

Pete is revered in New Zealand not solely for his angling abilities or his colorful language, but in his capacity as Reverend Pete Anderson, a Doctor of Theology in the Universal Life Church. It was in the land of the long white cloud where Pete did his best missionary work, building a wide following known now as the "gentle men of the Universal Life Church."

Pete was a lifelong sports fan, who devoured the sports pages until his final days. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports, and was particularly keen on East Bay athletics, about which he could recite a wealth of facts, stats and anecdotes.

Many will remember Pete as a master storyteller, most of which were wholly inappropriate. Invariably, his stories would result in gales of laughter and tears of joy shed by both the audience and Pete.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to: Piedmont Beautification Foundation, Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611 or Trout Unlimited, Attn: Sarah Wessel, 1777 N. Kent St., Arlington, VA 22209.