Martin Anderson

Martin Anderson, 88, of Villa St. Benedict in Lisle, Illinois, and previously a long-time resident of Glen Ellyn, passed away on November 30, 2025. Marty was the beloved husband of 60 years to Rebecca, devoted father to Phillip and Kevin (Margaret Guseman), and loving grandfather to Natalie and Luke Anderson.

Marty grew up on Humphrey Avenue in Oak Park, where he enjoyed a childhood of board games on the back porch and baseball in an empty lot with his late sister Barbara (Sullivan) and the neighborhood children. One of his favorite outings was Riverview Amusement Park during two-cent days, two streetcar rides away. He held a variety of jobs, including mowing lawns, shoveling snow, newspaper delivery, Hale Drugs delivery and soda fountain, candy corn maker at Brach’s Candies, a Raytheon TV assembler, and pole and equator assembler at Replogle Globes. He was a 1955 graduate of Oak Park River Forest High School and was the first in his family to earn a high school diploma. As a proud Augustana College Viking, he pursued his lifelong interest in geology. A trip to study the Scablands of Eastern Washington state was a particular highlight for him, and even after college, he was known to study the landforms and rock formations he encountered in his many travels.

After graduating in 1959, Marty fulfilled his duty in the Army Reserves where he spent six years as a cook. He worked in group insurance at the Principal Financial Group for 31 years.

Marty enjoyed spending time with his sons, especially through their activities in the Boy Scouts. He served a Committee Chairman for Pack 158 and Troop 46, and chaperoned for ten years on weekend campouts, summer camps at Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan, and even a “high adventure” trip paddling and portaging through Lake-of-the-Woods, Ontario. Though the camping itself was not his favorite activity, it was the time with his sons and the camaraderie with the other dads on those trips that he found most rewarding.

Marty loved all kinds of travel, and sat many hours at his basement desk planning family vacations to see the National Parks out west, to see historical sites out east, and to relax at Sanibel Island. His Pentax camera was a constant presence during vacations and at family events, and slideshows helped him relive those good times.

Marty saw retirement as an opportunity to become a student again, and enrolled at the College of DuPage for credit courses. His studies in music and history inspired Marty to take many trips to Europe to investigate what he learned. He and his wife also attended many events in Chicago, including Millennium Park concerts and productions at the Lyric Opera, the Shakespeare Theater, and the Goodman Theater. He always looked forward to the annual winter trip to Kauai, Hawaii to enjoy the views of Bali Hai and the ocean. During the growing seasons, he kept busy with his extensive hosta collection at his Glen Ellyn home. The last few years found Marty enjoying quieter times on his Lisle patio while reading the newspaper, managing finances on his iPad, and remembering good times.

Private burial will be January 3, 2026. A Celebration of Life services are being planned for early 2026.

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