Helen Jean Anderson

Helen Jean Anderson, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, at the age of 94. Jean, as she preferred to be called, was born in Morrilton, Arkansas, on September 2, 1920, to Paul L. and Helen G. (Turnbaugh) Richardson. She grew up mostly in western Oklahoma, surviving the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and graduated from Woodward High School in Woodward, OK in 1939. She also attended one year of junior college. She met the love of her life, Clarence H. “Andy” Anderson, and they married in Woodward on July 13, 1940. They celebrated 58 years of marriage, until Clarence passed away in 1998. Jean and Andy bought their first home in Muskogee in 1952. They joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1956, and spent the rest of their lives serving in the church. Jean’s motto was “If you want to be happy, love and serve others." In 1962, they moved to Tulsa, OK, where Jean worked as an Executive Secretary for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She retired from the Corps in 1984 so that she could serve a church mission in Clovis, New Mexico for one and a half years with her beloved husband. After their mission, they traveled extensively. Jean’s favorite places were New Zealand, Mexico and Spain. Jean moved back to Muskogee in 2002. She was an accomplished secretary, seamstress, cook, and she loved to read. In her later life, she loved watching Cardinals Baseball and western movies. Jean had a loving heart for everyone she met. She will truly be missed by many loving friends and family. Jean is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, one brother, Paul Richardson, and one great grandson, Cody L. Cookson. She is survived by her two sons, Eric E. Anderson and wife Margaret Ann of Fort Worth, TX, and Erin D. Anderson of Lyle, WA; one daughter, Enid A. Gonseth and husband Wilson of Muskogee, OK; her five granddaughters, Erin Kelly Lee, Echo Baughman and husband Scott, Elise Ellis and husband Brian, Brett Jae Forsberg and husband Rob, Amanda Batdorf and husband Rick; two brothers, Robert Z. Richardson and wife Rebecka of Venezuela, and Franklin D. Richardson and wife Norma of Georgetown, TX; sister-in-law, Ramona Richardson of Medford, OR; ten great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and several cousins, nieces and nephews. Visitation will be 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at Moore’s Southlawn, 9350 E. 51st, Tulsa. Funeral services celebrating Jean’s life will be 10:30 A.M., Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in Muskogee, OK, with Bishop Guy E. Grooms officiating. Graveside service will follow at Floral Haven Cemetery, Broken Arrow, OK. The family has entrusted Moore’s Southlawn Funeral Home, Tulsa, OK, 918-663-2233 with arrangements. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.moorefuneral.com

Helen Jean Anderson

September 2, 1920 - July 22, 2015