John Anderson

TRAVERSE CITY — John Anderson, 83, of Traverse City, passed away Jan. 19, 2011. John was born on May 1, 1927, in Coopersville, to the late Harold and Ruth (Soderman) Anderson. After graduating from high school in Cadillac, John attended Michigan State University and graduated from the Radio and Television Institute in Chicago. From 1944 to 1948, John served his country honorably with the United States Army as a first lieutenant. During his time with the Army he started his long career in broadcasting as an announcer for the Armed Forces Radio Network. In 1950 he worked in Marion, Ind., at WBAT as their program director. He then moved to Cadillac where he was a sports announcer with WWTV. In 1954, he moved to Traverse City and was the station manager at WPBN. At that time, he was the youngest person to ever become a television station manager. In 1960, John founded WCCW AM and FM. He owned and operated the stations until 1984. After the sale of WCCW, he started Anderson-Gordon Associates advertising agency.Throughout his long career he served on the board of directors of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, was the president of the MAB in 1973 and started the Small Market Group in 1971. During the 1970s he was the president of the Michigan Associated Press Broadcasters. He also served on the National Association of Broadcasters board of directors from 1975 to 1979 representing Michigan and Indiana. John also had a passion for civic activities. In 1978, John was honored with the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award. In 1983, John was named one of the Traverse City area's "10 most important movers and shakers" in a Record-Eagle survey. He served as the president of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce in 1973, president of the National Cherry Festival in 1964 and 1965, vice chairman of the Michigan State Chamber of Commerce in 1981, president of the Traverse City Rotary Club in 1966, president of Rotary Charities and served on the board of directors for Empire National Bank for 27 years. He also served as a committee member of the Camp Roy-El for the Handicapped. John served as toastmaster for many local civic events in 1960s.John was also very involved in politics. He served as the Grand Traverse County chair of the Republican Party in the 1970s and ran for state Senate in 1982. In his spare time John enjoyed listening to big band music, reading, telling jokes and was interested in current events. John is survived by his wife of over 28 years, Katherine (Joyce) Anderson; daughter, Monica (Jim) Haluska; sister, Betty (Russ) Peterson; sister, Claire Josephine Hector; sister, Ruth "Lol" Thompson; brother, David (Karin) Wier; sister-in-law, Hilma Wier; grandchildren, Catherine (Brent) Shaffer, Maggie Haluska, Jenny (Chris) Scott and Alex (David) Pitawanakwat; and great-grandchildren, Glen, Katlyn and Aeris. John was preceded in death by his parents; stepmother, Ruth Alice Anderson; and brother, John Wier. A memorial service celebrating John's life will be held on Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, at 11 a.m., at First Congregational Church, with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the First Congregational Church, where John was a longtime member. Please visit John's online guestbook at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com to share your thoughts and memories with the family. The family is being served by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.

John Anderson

January 19, 2011