The Rev. Richard John Anderson who served as a priest of the Episcopal Church for 60 years died on June 23 in Richmond, Virginia. He began ministry as a priest at St. Paul’s Church, Durant, Iowa, and continued on at St. John’s Church, Dubuque Iowa, Grace Church, Buffalo, New York and as Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. He served 11 years on the Episcopal Church’s national staff in New York, beginning as Executive Assistant to the Presiding Bishop and later as Executive for Communication. He served St. Mark’s Church Mt. Kisco, NY until his retirement in 1994. During retirement he served as interim at Trinity Church, Los Alamos, NM, St. Mary’s Church, Albuquerque, NM, Holy Innocents Church, Corte Madera, CA, St. Ann’s Church, Kennebunkport, ME and St David’s Church, Kennebunk, ME. He particularly enjoyed these years as interim where he was able to spend time in a variety of places encouraging diverse congregations to embrace their differences even in times of disagreement.
Father Anderson was born on March 17, 1934 in Iowa City, IA, the son of Bernard and Helene (Bach) Anderson. Most of his childhood was spent in Red Oak, IA where he graduated from high school in 1952. He attended Pasadena City College in CA and served in the US Marine Corps. He graduated from San Diego State College in 1958. He earned a Master of Divinity degree at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1961 and a Master of Sacred Theology degree from the Dubuque Theological Seminary in 1967. He was one of the eleven founders of the Episcopal Communicators and was editor the daily newspaper published at the Episcopal General Convention in 1973. Father Anderson moved to Richmond, VA in 2025 to be closer to family.
Enjoying a life-long interest in railroads, Father Anderson wrote articles for several national railroad magazines. He was a member of the National Model Railroad Association and the Iowa Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. He is survived by his three children, Mary Mayo of Richmond, VA, Elizabeth Karlin (Chris) of Hood River, OR, Steve Anderson of Coralville, IA, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He was married to Audrey E. Anderson who died in 2015. Father Anderson’s ashes will be interred next to his wife in the Memorial Garden at St. David’s Episcopal Church, Kennebunk, ME.
