Peder Edvin "Pete" Andersen, age 91, a long-time Livermore resident, passed away December 29, 2013 after a long struggle as a result of being hit by a bicycle on the evening of December 5, 2012 on Palm Avenue in Livermore.
Pete is survived by his wife Margaret, his brother Arne, and his sisters Edith and Helen.
Pete was born on July 4, 1922 in a farmhouse named Engvang near Vejle, Denmark. Pete was the first of four children of Helge and Mette Andersen. On October 25, 1927 the family arrived in the United States from Denmark and after staying one year on a dairy farm in Iowa, they were one of the first families to come through the newly opened Moffat Railway Tunnel on the Continental Divide in Colorado, on their way to California.
With the help of Mette's relative, John Rasmussen, they moved to the now historic Wood Ranch in Danville, where Helga worked and Mette cooked. Charlotte Wood, a well-known retired teacher, helped the family learn English. Four years later, they settled in what is now called Camp Parks in Dublin. In 1942 with the outbreak of World War II, the family was forced to relocate to a ranch near Collier Canyon. Pete lived here for the rest of his life.
In 1941, Pete graduated from Pleasanton's Amador High School. He played football and basketball at Amador. After graduation, he began a carpentry and construction career, in addition to being a rancher, until his retirement.
Pete proudly served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II as a member of the Headquarters Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, because of his ability to type, a skill that few men possessed. Pete never forgot the day that the Colonel was in another room and Pete took the call to "...stop shooting, the war is over." He was awarded a Purple Heart when his jeep was accidentally strafed by a British plane. He received a Bronze Star for outstanding service.
He began to keep score at Livermore High basketball games in 1952, when the assigned scorekeeper failed to show and Pete filled in. He scored an incredible 3,513 games over the next 60 years. He was a sportwriter for the Livermore News (currently The Herald) from 1951 to 1956. In 1955, Pete married Margaret Detjens, his beloved wife of 58 years.
Pete loved travel, photography, fishing, elk hunting, and being close to nature. Yosemite was one of his favorite spots. He climbed Half Dome four times after he turned 60 and Mt. Dana when he turned 80.
Pete also loved to photograph spring wildflowers around the country, and especially dramatic scenes of Arizona, where he traveled often with Margaret and his friend the late Jack Kolln of Pleasanton. Pete and Margaret also made several trips to Europe including Denmark, to visit relatives and the farm where Pete was born. They also traveled to Germany, Norway, Svalbard Island near the North Pole, and Iceland.
As a lover of football, Pete attended 660 college games from 1934 until 2012. He also attended 37 Rose Bowl games and dozens of other college Bowl games. He attended with Margaret and his former classmate Bob Trimingham.
Pete was a member of the VFW, the Livermore Danish Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Livermore Heritage Guild, Museum on Main in Pleasanton, Museum of the San Ramon Valley, and the Danish Immigrant Museum in Iowa.
A heart-felt Celebration of Life for Pete was held at the Livermore Veteran's Hall on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Pete is buried at the Memory Gardens in Livermore, California.
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Veteran of World War II. An original member of the 91st Division who trained in Camp White and Camp Adair - both in Oregon. Served in Regimental Headquarters, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division in combat in northern Italy.
Pete is survived by his wife Margaret, his brother Arne, and his sisters Edith and Helen.
Pete was born on July 4, 1922 in a farmhouse named Engvang near Vejle, Denmark. Pete was the first of four children of Helge and Mette Andersen. On October 25, 1927 the family arrived in the United States from Denmark and after staying one year on a dairy farm in Iowa, they were one of the first families to come through the newly opened Moffat Railway Tunnel on the Continental Divide in Colorado, on their way to California.
With the help of Mette's relative, John Rasmussen, they moved to the now historic Wood Ranch in Danville, where Helga worked and Mette cooked. Charlotte Wood, a well-known retired teacher, helped the family learn English. Four years later, they settled in what is now called Camp Parks in Dublin. In 1942 with the outbreak of World War II, the family was forced to relocate to a ranch near Collier Canyon. Pete lived here for the rest of his life.
In 1941, Pete graduated from Pleasanton's Amador High School. He played football and basketball at Amador. After graduation, he began a carpentry and construction career, in addition to being a rancher, until his retirement.
Pete proudly served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II as a member of the Headquarters Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, because of his ability to type, a skill that few men possessed. Pete never forgot the day that the Colonel was in another room and Pete took the call to "...stop shooting, the war is over." He was awarded a Purple Heart when his jeep was accidentally strafed by a British plane. He received a Bronze Star for outstanding service.
He began to keep score at Livermore High basketball games in 1952, when the assigned scorekeeper failed to show and Pete filled in. He scored an incredible 3,513 games over the next 60 years. He was a sportwriter for the Livermore News (currently The Herald) from 1951 to 1956. In 1955, Pete married Margaret Detjens, his beloved wife of 58 years.
Pete loved travel, photography, fishing, elk hunting, and being close to nature. Yosemite was one of his favorite spots. He climbed Half Dome four times after he turned 60 and Mt. Dana when he turned 80.
Pete also loved to photograph spring wildflowers around the country, and especially dramatic scenes of Arizona, where he traveled often with Margaret and his friend the late Jack Kolln of Pleasanton. Pete and Margaret also made several trips to Europe including Denmark, to visit relatives and the farm where Pete was born. They also traveled to Germany, Norway, Svalbard Island near the North Pole, and Iceland.
As a lover of football, Pete attended 660 college games from 1934 until 2012. He also attended 37 Rose Bowl games and dozens of other college Bowl games. He attended with Margaret and his former classmate Bob Trimingham.
Pete was a member of the VFW, the Livermore Danish Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Livermore Heritage Guild, Museum on Main in Pleasanton, Museum of the San Ramon Valley, and the Danish Immigrant Museum in Iowa.
A heart-felt Celebration of Life for Pete was held at the Livermore Veteran's Hall on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Pete is buried at the Memory Gardens in Livermore, California.
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Veteran of World War II. An original member of the 91st Division who trained in Camp White and Camp Adair - both in Oregon. Served in Regimental Headquarters, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division in combat in northern Italy.
Peder Edvin "Pete" Andersen, age 91, a long-time Livermore resident, passed away December 29, 2013 after a long struggle as a result of being hit by a bicycle on the evening of December 5, 2012 on Palm Avenue in Livermore.
Pete is survived by his wife Margaret, his brother Arne, and his sisters Edith and Helen.
Pete was born on July 4, 1922 in a farmhouse named Engvang near Vejle, Denmark. Pete was the first of four children of Helge and Mette Andersen. On October 25, 1927 the family arrived in the United States from Denmark and after staying one year on a dairy farm in Iowa, they were one of the first families to come through the newly opened Moffat Railway Tunnel on the Continental Divide in Colorado, on their way to California.
With the help of Mette's relative, John Rasmussen, they moved to the now historic Wood Ranch in Danville, where Helga worked and Mette cooked. Charlotte Wood, a well-known retired teacher, helped the family learn English. Four years later, they settled in what is now called Camp Parks in Dublin. In 1942 with the outbreak of World War II, the family was forced to relocate to a ranch near Collier Canyon. Pete lived here for the rest of his life.
In 1941, Pete graduated from Pleasanton's Amador High School. He played football and basketball at Amador. After graduation, he began a carpentry and construction career, in addition to being a rancher, until his retirement.
Pete proudly served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II as a member of the Headquarters Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, because of his ability to type, a skill that few men possessed. Pete never forgot the day that the Colonel was in another room and Pete took the call to "...stop shooting, the war is over." He was awarded a Purple Heart when his jeep was accidentally strafed by a British plane. He received a Bronze Star for outstanding service.
He began to keep score at Livermore High basketball games in 1952, when the assigned scorekeeper failed to show and Pete filled in. He scored an incredible 3,513 games over the next 60 years. He was a sportwriter for the Livermore News (currently The Herald) from 1951 to 1956. In 1955, Pete married Margaret Detjens, his beloved wife of 58 years.
Pete loved travel, photography, fishing, elk hunting, and being close to nature. Yosemite was one of his favorite spots. He climbed Half Dome four times after he turned 60 and Mt. Dana when he turned 80.
Pete also loved to photograph spring wildflowers around the country, and especially dramatic scenes of Arizona, where he traveled often with Margaret and his friend the late Jack Kolln of Pleasanton. Pete and Margaret also made several trips to Europe including Denmark, to visit relatives and the farm where Pete was born. They also traveled to Germany, Norway, Svalbard Island near the North Pole, and Iceland.
As a lover of football, Pete attended 660 college games from 1934 until 2012. He also attended 37 Rose Bowl games and dozens of other college Bowl games. He attended with Margaret and his former classmate Bob Trimingham.
Pete was a member of the VFW, the Livermore Danish Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Livermore Heritage Guild, Museum on Main in Pleasanton, Museum of the San Ramon Valley, and the Danish Immigrant Museum in Iowa.
A heart-felt Celebration of Life for Pete was held at the Livermore Veteran's Hall on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Pete is buried at the Memory Gardens in Livermore, California.
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Veteran of World War II. An original member of the 91st Division who trained in Camp White and Camp Adair - both in Oregon. Served in Regimental Headquarters, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division in combat in northern Italy.
Pete is survived by his wife Margaret, his brother Arne, and his sisters Edith and Helen.
Pete was born on July 4, 1922 in a farmhouse named Engvang near Vejle, Denmark. Pete was the first of four children of Helge and Mette Andersen. On October 25, 1927 the family arrived in the United States from Denmark and after staying one year on a dairy farm in Iowa, they were one of the first families to come through the newly opened Moffat Railway Tunnel on the Continental Divide in Colorado, on their way to California.
With the help of Mette's relative, John Rasmussen, they moved to the now historic Wood Ranch in Danville, where Helga worked and Mette cooked. Charlotte Wood, a well-known retired teacher, helped the family learn English. Four years later, they settled in what is now called Camp Parks in Dublin. In 1942 with the outbreak of World War II, the family was forced to relocate to a ranch near Collier Canyon. Pete lived here for the rest of his life.
In 1941, Pete graduated from Pleasanton's Amador High School. He played football and basketball at Amador. After graduation, he began a carpentry and construction career, in addition to being a rancher, until his retirement.
Pete proudly served in the U.S. Army in Italy during World War II as a member of the Headquarters Company, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, because of his ability to type, a skill that few men possessed. Pete never forgot the day that the Colonel was in another room and Pete took the call to "...stop shooting, the war is over." He was awarded a Purple Heart when his jeep was accidentally strafed by a British plane. He received a Bronze Star for outstanding service.
He began to keep score at Livermore High basketball games in 1952, when the assigned scorekeeper failed to show and Pete filled in. He scored an incredible 3,513 games over the next 60 years. He was a sportwriter for the Livermore News (currently The Herald) from 1951 to 1956. In 1955, Pete married Margaret Detjens, his beloved wife of 58 years.
Pete loved travel, photography, fishing, elk hunting, and being close to nature. Yosemite was one of his favorite spots. He climbed Half Dome four times after he turned 60 and Mt. Dana when he turned 80.
Pete also loved to photograph spring wildflowers around the country, and especially dramatic scenes of Arizona, where he traveled often with Margaret and his friend the late Jack Kolln of Pleasanton. Pete and Margaret also made several trips to Europe including Denmark, to visit relatives and the farm where Pete was born. They also traveled to Germany, Norway, Svalbard Island near the North Pole, and Iceland.
As a lover of football, Pete attended 660 college games from 1934 until 2012. He also attended 37 Rose Bowl games and dozens of other college Bowl games. He attended with Margaret and his former classmate Bob Trimingham.
Pete was a member of the VFW, the Livermore Danish Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Livermore Heritage Guild, Museum on Main in Pleasanton, Museum of the San Ramon Valley, and the Danish Immigrant Museum in Iowa.
A heart-felt Celebration of Life for Pete was held at the Livermore Veteran's Hall on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Pete is buried at the Memory Gardens in Livermore, California.
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Veteran of World War II. An original member of the 91st Division who trained in Camp White and Camp Adair - both in Oregon. Served in Regimental Headquarters, 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division in combat in northern Italy.
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