GEOFFREY F. ANDERSON, 71 Geoffrey Frank Anderson passed away August 23 in his retirement city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Geoff was born May 1, 1950 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Gordon and Barbara Anderson. He and his older sister Barbara were soon joined by brother Clayton and, after the family moved to North Dakota in 1954, brother Andrew. In 1960 the family relocated to San Clemente, California, where sister Lorena joined the family in 1964. Geoff graduated from San Clemente High, married Lani Engle, and in 1971 their daughter Kristin was born. Geoff attended South Coast Community College and Oregon State university before his life-long wanderlust kicked in. Following his brother Clayton to Yap, Geoff enjoyed fishing, swimming, diving, and working as a teacher of English to local students. Subsequently and for many years he worked as a chef in hotel and resort restaurants across the western United States and on the island of Kauai. In 2000 Geoff returned to California, settling in Paradise (and later Chico) where his parents and brothers and sister lived, and taking up yardwork and agriculture in lieu of cooking. Always a restless soul, Geoff loved travel and adventure, meeting new people and learning new things. He visited virtually all the countries of Europe and many of Southeast Asia. He was an avid gardenerestablishing orchid collections wherever he livedand card playerespecially poker. He was a man of boundless optimism and only intermittent realism. The former, coupled with his determination and persistence, triumphed over the latter when he beat the odds that said he would never walk again after a fall in 2016. He spent his retirement years, both before and after the accident, in Cuenca, Ecuador, where he developed a community of expat friends in a city and country he grew to appreciate and love. Geoffrey was preceded in death by his parents, Barbara and Gordon Anderson, his brother Andrew Anderson, and his nephew Tavy Anderson. He is survived by his daughter Kristin Anderson of Tempe, Arizona, his sister and brother-in-law Barbara and Alex Hammond of Pullman, Washington, his brother and sister-in-law Clayton and Ioani Anderson of Durham, California, his sister Lorena Anderson of Merced, California, and nieces and nephews Julie Anderson, Alec and Elizabeth Hammond, Pelep Anderson, Lehrina Coker, cousin Russell Henry of Oceanside and lifelong friend Bob Bradbury of Santa Fe. The family extends particular thanks to his doctors and Cuenca friends and neighbors who rallied around him during his final illnesses.

Published by Chico Enterprise-Record on Sep. 19, 2021.