David D. Anderson, Ph.D., 87, university distinguished professor emeritus, Michigan State University, died December 3 at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich. Born June 8, 1924 in Lorain, Ohio, Dr. Anderson grew up on the shores of Lake Erie, where he was inspired by stories of the Great Lakes and by accounts of local history. He played piccolo in the VFW boys' band, basketball at St. Mary's High School, and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Following graduation from St. Mary's High School in 1942, he served in the amphibious forces of the U.S. Navy; participated in the Anzio Landing; earned a Silver Star and five battle stars; and when his ship, P.C. 621, was torpedoed and sunk, a Purple Heart. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Maintaining a lifelong connection to his hometown, Dr. Anderson was a longstanding member of Lorain's Black River Historical Society, its VFW post 451, and American Legion Post 30. At Bowling Green State University, he received his bachelor's degree in English and geology in 1951, and an M.A. in English the following year. He received his Ph.D. in English from Michigan State University in 1961, where he went on to teach first in the Department of English, and for the bulk of his career, in the Department of American Thought and Language, from which he retired in 1994. During 1963-64, he was a Fulbright lecturer in American literature at the University of Karachi, Pakistan. Prior to his teaching years at MSU, he taught at General Motors Institute (Kettering University). Author, editor, and biographer, Dr. Anderson's primary scholarship focused on Ohio and Midwestern literature. A foremost authority on the life and letters of Sherwood Anderson (no relation) and co-founder of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, Dr. Anderson lectured throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. He published 37 books and hundreds of articles as well as poems, a novel, and a collection of short stories. For the past several decades, Dr. Anderson had been invited by the Swedish Academy to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in literature.
His many awards include honorary doctorates from Wittenberg University and Bowling Green State University, and the Ohioana Career Award for Professional Accomplishments in the Arts and Humanities, in which he joins past recipients, who include Arthur Schlesinger, Toni Morrison, and John Glenn.
Dr. Anderson is survived by a sister, Eileen Perusek of Lorain, Ohio; nieces Judy Bishop of Sandusky, Ohio; Kathy Sampson of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Anne Perusek of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and nephews Chris Kieswetter, Pontiac, Mich.; David Perusek, Ph.D., Ashtabula, Ohio; Charles Perusek, Lorain, Ohio, and Michael Kieswetter, Fairfax, Va. He is survived also by his wife's niece, Susan Revello, and nephews Andrew Uston and Richard Uske, and many grand nieces and nephews and good friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 53 years, Patricia A. (Rittenhour) Anderson; parents David and Nora (Foster) Anderson; brother James Anderson; sister Kathleen Kieswetter; and nephew Theodore Perusek.
Visitation will be at Palmer, Bush & Jensen Family Funeral Homes, Lansing Chapel, Lansing, MI from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday Dec. 8. On Friday Dec. 9, visitation at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing at 9:00 a.m., followed by the funeral mass beginning at 10:00 a.m. with Rev. Fr. Bernard Reilly officiating. Visitation in Lorain, Ohio on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Mary, Mother of God Catholic Church, beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by liturgy conducted by Rev. Fr. James Becherer at 11:00 a.m. and interment in Calvary Cemetery, Lorain, Ohio. Donations in Dr. Anderson's memory may be made to the Greater Lansing Area Food Bank, the Patricia A. Anderson Library Endowment Fund for Children's Books at Michigan State, or the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. Condolences can be made at www.palmerbush.com.