Obituary: Verner Anderson

Verner Anderson, age 94, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, passed away Thursday, October 31, 2019, at the Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge.

Verner was born December 22, 1924, in Independence, Kansas, the son of August and Amanda Lonn Anderson. He grew up in Ormsby, Pennsylvania, where his family moved from Independence. After graduation, Verner attended Alabama University and then graduated from the University of Tennessee.

Since 1946, Mr. Anderson had made his home in Oak Ridge. Working as a mathematician initially for the Manhattan Project, his later work supported many of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research programs until he retired in the 1990s. ORNL is our nation’s largest science and energy laboratory, and Mr. Anderson is credited with many important scientific contributions which have greatly benefited society over his five decades of service.

Once retired, Verner was involved with the missionary group, Christians United for Israel, and contributed his time to many worthwhile political causes.  

Not only was Verner a brilliant mathematician, he was also the most caring person one could ever have met. He never failed to direct his time and resources to those who needed his help. Most of us journey through life touching people’s lives; Verner changed our lives. Whether helping “hobos and tramps” during the Great Depression, caring continuously for his aging mother and sister, giving shelter to a deserving family without a home, putting his niece through school, and spending his days with a friend’s mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s, Verner selflessly demonstrated God’s love and compassion. He is truly survived by all of us and lives on through the people he has forever changed. Verner was the true definition of a saint, a giving son, uncle, brother, and friend, and he will never be forgotten by his friends and family.

He was preceded in death by his parents and three sisters: Thelma Pollock, Regina Anderson, and Astrid Parkinson. He was also preceded in death by his nephew James W. Pollock ,who passed away September 24, 2019.

He is survived by seven nieces: Carol Barnes, Ellen Hanson, Marsha Dowd, Kay Colligan, Kristin Parkinson, Kimberly Parkinson, Melissa Parkinson, and nephew Wayne Parkinson. He is also survived by close friends Melissa Hicks, Brent Bowman, Jr., Bob Olszewski, and Robert Welton of Oak Ridge.

Mr. Anderson will be laid to rest in the family plot in Rosehill Cemetery at a later date in Smethport, Pennsylvania, where the family will gather for a memorial.  An online guestbook can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.