Diane S. Anderson

Diane was the beloved only daughter of the late Dorothy Kathryn Minch and Jamison Stewart Sides. She was born on January 22, 1932 and left us on August 5, 2020. During her later years of life she was afflicted by Parkinson’s Disease, complications of which were the ultimate cause of her death. It was amazing how stalwartly she proceeded through her Parkinson years without succumbing to self-pity. Parkinson’s isn’t curable, so one rolls with the unfortunate punches. She was GREAT! Benjamin H. Anderson, Jr., was the unbelievably lucky man that Diane chose with whom to march through life. Ben was a soldier and they moved often throughout the country and the world. Diane always made their home a welcome place for friends, relatives, and, of course, their three wonderful sons, David, Douglas, and Donald. In addition to the burdens of military “wifedom,” Diane was a professional elementary school teacher. She taught with the Department of Defense Schools and with the Fairfax County Public Schools systems. She was a “readin’ writin’ & ‘rithmetic” teacher. While she studied and knew the “modern education” systems and mores, the children that passed through her classrooms knew how to read, write, add, and subtract (not to speak of their multiplication tables). As the parents of her students might remember, “A ‘C’ is a ‘C’!” Diane is survived by Ben, their three sons, three precious daughters-in-law: Patti, Molly, & Michelle, and the jewels of her later life, her amazingly attractive and incomparably intelligent grandchildren: Lauren, Phil, Jeff, Matt, Paul, Nicole, & Cecilia.

She expressly asked that anyone wanting to memorialize her should please consider Fisher House Foundation.