John Anderson, Jr.

John Anderson Jr., Kansas' oldest living former governor, died September 15, 2014, at Good Samaritan Center in Olathe. In addition to two terms as governor, Anderson founded a life based on family, public service, and farming. When he completed his day at the law office, Anderson could usually be found on a tractor at one of his farms. He also enjoyed attending auctions and sales, serving as judge a number of times at an auctioneer contest held in Kansas City.



Anderson was married for 67 years to the former Arlene Auchard who preceded him in death in 2011. They are the parents of three children: John (Cathy) Anderson III, and twins King David (Elizabeth) Anderson and Kerry Anderson (Paul) Russell. Anderson doted on his six grandchildren with whom he loved to take trips to Toys R Us: Philip (Brandyne) Russell, Erin (Michael) McDonald, Shannon (Matt) Hermsen, Kelsey (Kyle) Farnam, Scott Russell, and Mary (Jonathan) Dickson. In addition, he is a great-grandfather to Soren Anderson Russell, Stephen and Patrick McDonald, Nicholas and Kaitlyn Hermsen and John David Dickson.



Anderson was the thirty-sixth governor of Kansas from 1961-1965. Highlights of his terms include a restructuring of the state's schools into unified districts, improvement of the state welfare system, revision of the pardon and parole system, endorsement of vocational-technical schools, and sanction of fair employment practices. He was also the first governor to occupy Cedar Crest. Anderson's political career began in 1947 when he was elected Johnson County attorney, a position he held for six years. From 1953-56 he was a member of the Kansas State Senate. In 1956 he was appointed Attorney General of Kansas, where he served until 1961 when he began his first term as governor. After he returned to Johnson County, he was affiliated with a number of law firms. The Johnson County Bar Association in 1996 gave John its most prestigious honor, the Justinian Award, for integrity, service to the community, service to the legal profession, and for warmth, friendliness, and camaraderie.



The essence of Anderson's political and personal philosophy comes through in an interview he gave six years ago to Bob Beatty, an associate professor of political science at Washburn University: "When you get a problem that might seem to be political, many times [it] is not as much political as just a genuine problem of something needing to be done and needing the money to do it. That's not Republican or Democrat, that's just a problem for the people... The poor, the rich, the humble, the proud, the strong, the weak, the fortunate and the unfortunate must be the beneficiaries in the years to come of a government progressively administered in the interests of all the people."



Anderson's farming roots ran deep. His father's (John Anderson) family began farming in Olathe at the beginning of the twentieth century, and his mother's (Ora Bookout) family started a farm in Johnson County after moving to Kansas in 1858. Ora and John had three other sons who predeceased John: George, Joe, and Dean. John enjoyed planting wheat, corn and soybeans, and herding his registered herefords. His tractors provided hours of enjoyment.



One of the honors that Anderson appreciated the most was the naming of a section of K-10 in Johnson County from Olathe to Eudora in his honor.



Memorial contributions in John's honor may be made to the Good Samaritan Society, Memory Care Assisted Living Center, 20705 W. 151st St., Olathe, KS 66061-7222 or Olathe Public Schools Foundation, 315 N. Lindenwood Dr., Olathe, KS 66602. Private services were held.