Evelyn Joyce Anderson

Evelyn J. Anderson (96) passed away peacefully on Friday, March 18, 2022, while surrounded by her family. She was born in Hamill, South Dakota, to Fred and Antonia Preslicka. The youngest of five children, the importance of family was instilled in her from an early age. As a child of the Great Depression, the Preslicka Family endured multiple hardships like everyone else but she had many good memories from the “simpler days” and she and the family thrived by relying on each other.

As a young girl, Evelyn was a model student. She was an excellent speller, competing in and winning spelling contests. She was the epitome of a wordsmith, and perhaps one of her greatest lasting contributions is passing along her love of Scrabble and crossword puzzles to her children and grandchildren. Evelyn liked to keep her mind busy. She also loved travel, music and loved attending dances.

Evelyn followed her older sister to Portland with its promise of an abundance of available work during the war. It’s where she would eventually call home for the remainder of her life, in no small part because it’s also where she met Warren Anderson, the man who would become her husband of 70 years.

As their young family was beginning, Evelyn and Warren bought a home in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood. Their home would become the site for countless birthdays, dinner parties, holidays, anniversaries, family events and much more – all orchestrated by Evelyn's homemaking and entertaining sensibilities. She loved traveling and the trips she took with Warren to Palm Springs, the East Coast, and Hawaii, to name a few, were among her favorite's.

Evelyn was an unapologetic housewife who took immense pride in taking care of her family and raising her children. She was a member of Mt. Tabor Presbyterian church and always available to help out at the kids' schools as a room mother. Together, they raised three children: Sandi, Dennis and Terri. Through it all, Evelyn was the classic definition of a mother and a hostess. Her grace, thoughtfulness, hospitality, love and ever-present kindness were always on display.

Though Warren preceded Evelyn in death, they will remain interred together here at Lincoln Memorial. Her legacy lives on through her children, her five grandchildren (Greg, Peter, Jon, Sarah and Ari) and her one great-grandchild, Anthony (AJ).