Kay A. Anderson, 66, St. Cloud

March 28, 1948 - March 16, 2015

Services celebrating the life of Kay Ann Anderson, age 66, of St. Cloud, will be at 11:00 AM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Cloud on Friday, March 20, 2015. Pastor Janine Olson will officiate. Kay passed away in her sleep after a long journey through the stages of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease at Lakeview Ranch in Dassel. There will be a visitation for family and friends from 4:00-8:00 PM Thursday, March 19, 2015 at the Miller-Carlin Funeral Home in St. Cloud and again after 10:00 AM until the time of service Friday morning at the church. Arrangements are being made with Miller-Carlin Funeral Home, St. Cloud.

Kay was born at home on March 28, 1948 in Roseau to Anton and Nellie (Howry) Wixsten. She shared her early years with two brothers. After her father passed away, they were raised by their stepfather Clifford Olson and gained one half-brother. She attended school in a very small country schoolhouse in Wannasaka and later graduated from Roseau High School. Kay went on to college at Bemidji State University where she met the man who would become her husband and many other lifelong friends. While still in school, she married Mark Anderson on Sept. 15, 1956 in Middle River, MN. They welcomed both their daughters into their family before graduating from college. Kay spent about five years teaching accounting at Thief River Falls Technical College before the family relocated in St. Cloud. She is fondly remembered as a Superwoman – she could do anything. She taught herself photography, how to knit and sew, she was athletic and participated in softball and other activities, and she completed bother her Master’s Degree and earned her CPA license in the same year. Kay was intelligent, a perpetual student who never stopped learning and who loved to read. She liked to spend time walking the schnauzers, take fishing trips with Mark, run in marathons, and was a big sports fan, especially hockey. Kay was unbelievably talented, a great teacher and mentor to students, an amazing mother, a great wife, and a good friends. She adored her grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by many.

Kay is survived by Mark, her husband of 47 years; her daughters Nikole Anderson (Randy DeMarais), Foley and Kersten (Ryan) Warren, Roseville; her brother Phil (Maureen) Wixsten, Minneapolis; Kim Olson (Dale’s wife); five grandchildren: Max and Noah Webb, Hudson, Elsa, and Nellie Warren; as well as other family and friends.

She is preceded by her parents Anton, Nellie, and Clifford, her brother Richard Wixsten, and her half-brother Dale Olson.