Charles Anderson

Charles Roger Anderson, 87, of Oakley, KS died Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at his residence. He was born September 9, 1934, to Andrew and Helen Anderson, in Gove, KS, where he was raised with his three brothers and one sister. Chuck graduated from Gove High School in 1952 and spent two years at Fort Hays State University before being employed by the Kansas State Highway department as a surveyor in July of 1954. He helped construct the then new Interstate 70 which ran from the Colorado border to the Missouri border. He was drafted into the US Army in 1956 and served until his honorable discharge in 1962. He married Joyce Ostmeyer on April 7, 1959, in Oakley KS, where they resided in the house he built himself. Chuck, or Andy as he was often called, worked for KDOT for 42 years, retiring as an engineer in 1996, never taking a sick day off work in 42 years.

Chuck was the proud father of four children, Michael, David, Tracy, and Tina and three grandchildren, Kaiden, Ty, and Leyton. He farmed his fathers rented land on weekends and was an avid fisherman, hunter and golfer. He was a former member of Pheasants Forever, the Oakley Country Club and a member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

Chuck was a doting family man who loved going to various Kansas lakes such as Cedar Bluff, Wilson, and Webster to fish, boat, ski and camp out. He was a self-taught mechanic and woodworker who could piddle with the best of them in his shop building many projects for family, friends and neighbors.

Chuck loved his friends and never met a stranger. He enjoyed drinking coffee, playing cards and solving “all of life’s problems” along the way. He was best known for his story telling and his boisterous laugh that could be heard all across town.

He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers Bud and Ralph Anderson; sister Leona Woods and son Michael Anderson.

He is survived by his wife Joyce, of the home in Oakley; son David and his wife Mary Ann, of Wheatridge, CO; daughters, Tracy and partner Jen, of Wichita, KS, and Tina Braesch and husband Eric, of Denver, CO; younger brother Richard and his wife Patti, of Colorado Springs Colorado; three grandsons, Kaiden, Ty and Leyton and several nieces and nephews.

There will be a celebration of life on Thursday, February 17 at the Anderson residence in Oakley, KS. The Funeral Mass will be Friday, February 18 at 11:00 am, at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, Oakley, with burial at Saint Joseph’s Cemetery, Oakley. Memorials are welcomed to the Friends of Webster Lake or St. Joseph's Catholic Grade School of Oakley and may be sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 204 Oakley, KS 67748. Online condolences: www.baalmannmortuary.com.