Memorial service: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at the Covenant United Methodist Church.
Burial: will follow at 2:00 p.m. at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison.
Charles M. Andersen died of natural causes in Helena, Montana, on April l7, 2010.
He was born in Rexburg, Idaho, on May 19, 1924, to Archie F. Andersen and Hazel Davis Andersen.
Preceding him in death was his wife Joyce Rowse Andersen, his parents Hazel and Archie, sister Lucille, and brothers Frank, Lee, and Larry.
Chuck is survived by his son David (Mary Harsh) Andersen of Helena, daughter Carla (Lynden) Heitz of Missoula, grandchildren Christopher, Nicolas, Lee Ann, Allison, and Jordan, sisters-in-law Frankie (Wally) Eagle, Naomi Andersen, and numerous nephews and nieces.
In high school and college Charles was a successful student and college athlete. He spoke fondly of the Idaho family farm where he worked with his brothers and cousins. During WWII Chuck served in the United States Army and received several medals for combat missions in Europe. After the war, he served briefly as an FBI agent but realized that he really wanted to be a family man and a teacher of high school English. He followed his dream to be a teacher in several schools before settling in Anaconda, Montana where he not only taught English but developed a successful speech and debate program.
Among the great occasions of Mr. Andersens life were hunting trips with his brother-in-law and father-in-law, holiday family gatherings in Ennis and annual visits from family and friends to his home in Yellowstone Park. He was an avid fly fisherman and, later in life, a very good golfer. From 1947 until 1979 Chuck worked as a seasonal ranger in Yellowstone National Park. For most of those years he served as Senior Park Ranger at the Yellowstone Lake Station where he mentored numerous young men and women in their National Park Service careers. His days in Yellowstone provided great fodder for his stories of bison, bears, and backcountry. With a wry sense of humor he often remembered the antics of tourists making their first voyages through the park.
Chuck will be remembered by family and friends for his stories, love, intelligence, and humor. He was above all, a gentleman.
Memorials may be sent to the Masonic Home of Montana, 2010 Masonic Road, Helena, Montana, 59602.
Local arrangements have been entrusted to Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home.
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