ANDERSON – Donald Leigh Anderson, 90, passed away peacefully on January 17, 2025 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Don was born on June 20, 1934, in the small community of Scandia, Alberta. His mother Blanche was a schoolteacher from New Brunswick, his father Ade a homesteader from Nebraska. Don was the fourth of six children. At a young age Don and his family moved to Brooks – possibly as a consequence of his setting the curtains on fire and burning down the farmhouse – where Ade took a job with the Alberta Wheat Pool.
Don studied engineering at the University of Alberta, graduating in 1956. While working in Kitimat, BC, he met Edith, a schoolteacher from Prince Rupert, in 1957; they were married a year later. Together they have two children, Scott born in 1964, and Lis born in 1967; they have one grandchild, Madeleine, born in 2000.
In 1960 Don and Edith moved to the University of Illinois for his master’s degree, then on to Stanford for his PhD. In 1967 Don returned to Canada to take up a faculty position in the Department of Civil Engineering at UBC. In the latter part of his career, he specialized in the design of earthquake-resistant structures; he joined delegations invited to tour the aftermath of major earthquakes in California, Japan and Turkey. As a professor he made full use of his sabbatical privileges, working and conducting research in the Niagara region, New Zealand, San Diego, and Japan. Don retired in 1999 but remained a regular presence in the department; he kept himself busy with conference organization and consulting work for many years afterward.
Until this past year, Don and Edith lived in their house near the university, where they remained devoted to their garden. Both before and in retirement Don and Edith travelled widely and enjoyed skiing, cycling, hiking and otherwise exploring the outdoors. A keen hockey player, Don didn’t hang up the skates until he reached the ripe old age of 79.
Family and friends were and still are a huge part of Don and Edith’s life together. Far too many to list, but you know who you are. The collegiality of the civil engineering department was beyond admirable; his colleagues remained his lifelong friends. Don retained a strong connection to Alberta, to both his extended family and the landscape itself; after decades enjoying the beauties of the coast, he would still sigh happily at the sight of endless prairie.
Don is survived by his wife Edith, his daughter Lis and her husband Owen, his son Scott and his wife Annette and their daughter Madeleine, and his sister Beth. He is predeceased by his brothers Dick, Bud and Lincoln, and his sister Joyce.
Don will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved him. He will be remembered for his intelligence and curiosity, his wry smiles, and his generosity and willingness to support others. He was an important mentor to a generation of students. He was a great listener. Though sometimes a man of few words, when he spoke, people listened. Were you to throw a party, back in the day, Don might be the first to arrive and the last to leave. When such skills were called upon, he could knit himself a sweater, fly an airplane, bake delicious sourdough bread, keep a hive of bees, or build half the furniture in the house. Don had strong views on the correct loading of dishwashers. He was an engineer to the very end.
Our deepest thanks to the many staff at Crofton Manor for their compassion and support.
A celebration of Don’s life will be held on Monday, 3 March from 1 to 4 pm at the University Golf Club.
