Pat Anders

“Pat’s words”

“It kills me to admit it, but apparently, I am gone with the wind.  I knew it would happen one day, but to tell you the truth, this is not the way I wanted to go. I wanted to go into a burning building and save the family, and then go back in to get the family pet and die a hero. Once again I didn’t get things my way!  I guess that’s the story of my life.

And while on that subject (the story of my life)… on January 9, 1945 on a cold, snowy day my mother, Edith Anders and grandmother, Addie Deverell, celebrated my birth. My daddy, Benny Anders was also in a hospital. He was recuperating in Hawaii cuperating from a bullet he received in Saipan during WWII.

I was such a sweet, loving never in any trouble kind of kidthat my parents decided to keep me as an only child. My Uncle Shorty was on the school board at Newsome, so when I was five he let me go to first grade, so Momma could work in the fields. When Newsome consolidated with Pittsburg, I wasn’t allowed to attend, so I actually started my real education in 1951.

I loved the Pittsburg High School class of 1963. Some of my life’s fondest memories are from my school days. I played football from the seventh through twelfth grade for the mighty Pirates. 

So many things in my life seemed of little significance at the time they happened, but then took on a greater importance as I got older.  The memories I’m taking with me now are so precious and have more value than all the gold and diamonds in my Masonic ring.

Memories … where do I begin?

Well, I remember rocking my high chair back when and I was two and falling out the window of a two-story house. I remember my first horse. I remember getting into a fight with Jackie Hackler, and I vaguely remember the wreck that everyone 65 and older that have lived in Camp County all their lives also remember. I lost two wonderful friends that day.

I remember the May Fate when we were in grade school. The first year I was a poppy, the second grade I was in cub scouts, and in the third grade we did figure eight’s around the maypole on bicycles. I couldn’t ride a bicycle, so I had to sit out. That might have been my only embarrassing moment of my life.  I can recall all the plays I participated in, including those when I was grown from the Spirit of Pittsburg, the Story of Easter, to my wife’s productions ofHee Haw.  

I remember being voted “All School Favorite” and “Most Valuable Football Player” my senior year. I also remember being appointed to the Pittsburg City Council for about ten years. I never asked or ran for any of those positions and will wonder until the day I die…oops I’ve obviously already died.

I played football at Texarkana Junior College, until I ran off with Eddie Joe Cappleman headed for Seattle, Washington. I had no idea where Seattle even was. We got snowed-in in Dallas, so I eventually went to work for Southern Lumber. I knew my luck would run out sooner or later, and in 1966 Uncle Sam summoned me into the army. After basic training, I spent two years at Fort Rucker, Alabama as an air traffic controller. After my army stint, I took a little time off from a real job and worked with Ben Gibson and his pest control business. It happened one day in April, that Charles Nowlin and I were parked at the Dairy Hart, and Ben’s daughter, Carolyn drove up with a friend in her 1967 metallic blue Lemans. Then and there, I bet Charles that I could get a date with Carolyn. He took the bet, and I decided to hide her car. When she walked out of the Dairy Hart, her car was gone. She noticed Charles and me laughing, and it was love at first sight for both of us. When I asked her on a date, she said I have to ask my daddy. I could hear his reply on the other end of the phone. “You’re not going anywhere with that jerk!” 

I landed a job as an air controller in Euless making the big bucks. $1.45 an hour. Carolyn and I married and rented an apartment in Dallas. We started our family there, and lived in Dallas two years until two planes bumped in mid-air. It was my shift but I was on a different sector so honestly people, it was not my fault. No one was hurt. Just a couple of dents. But we were all fired, so we packed our bags and moved back to Pittsburg. The next day, I put on a starched white shirt and tie and a pair of dress pants and went searching for new employment. The last thing Carolyn told me was, “Do not go to work for Lone Star Steel.”  It took me no time to get a job…at Lone Star Steel. I was the only employ that day with a starched white shirt and tie on.

We completed our family in 1972 when Macee was born. My only regrets with my family are not taking enough time to enjoy the little things with them. We raised two awesome kids and between the two, they blessed us even more with four of the grandest grandkids a Papoo could ever ask for: Victoria and Valerie Anders and Taylor Lowman Davis, Jack Lowman and a grandson-in-law, Spencer Davis.

I’ve played almost all sports from football to tennis, been a runner since running became a fad, a coach, but most of all I’ve been a story teller and could also remember every joke I’ve ever heard.  So … I was born; I blinked; and it was over. 

If you want to, you can look for me in the back left hand corner at CVS Pharmacy or in the yard mowing. Or you can think of me whenever you hear a Guy Clark song, but most importantly, think of me and Carolyn every time you see someone dancing. Sooner or later, I’ll be triple stepping with her at a dance hall in heaven.  

I’ll leave you with this…please don’t cry because I’m gone; instead be happy that I was here.  (Or maybe you can cry a little bit.  After all, I have passed away). Before I get too far gone in mind, I have one last quote. Carolyn was reading her book club book, and she showed me a quote that was from another book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: “I have nothing now but praise for my life. There are so many beautiful things in this world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.”

Mr. Pat Anders, age 76, of Pittsburg, passed away on Monday, November 22, 2021 at his home in Pittsburg. He was born January 9, 1945 to Arthur Benny Anders and Edith Deverell Anders in Pittsburg, Texas.

Pat served in the United States Army, was retired from the United States Postal Service, and was a member of the Frank Sexton Masonic Lodge in Pittsburg.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Anders of Pittsburg; son, Chad Anders and wife Lourdes of Chandler, Arizona; daughter, Macee Anders Miller of Pittsburg; grandchildren, Victoria Anders of San Diego, California, Taylor and Spencer Davis of Pensacola, Florida, Valerie Anders of Lebanon, Tennessee, and Jack Lowman of Jay, Florida.

He is preceded in death by his parents.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, November 24, 2021 at the Erman Smith Funeral Home Chapel in Pittsburg.