Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Anderson

Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Anderson, accomplished educator, world traveler, devoted minister's wife and family champion--passed away peacefully in Winter Park, Florida on October 9, 2026, at ninety-one years of age. A woman of formidable intellect, quiet poise, and practical determination, Liz lived a full life marked by high achievement, deep faith, and strong discipline.

Born February 20, 1935 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Liz grew up in nearby State College, the daughter of Edwin Joseph Anderson, a Penn State professor of apiculture (beekeeping), and Mary Amelia Boyer Anderson. Living on South Garner Street with her four siblings--Ray, Paul, Grace and Leona--she developed early on the grit and drive that characterized her entire life. At State College High School, Liz did just about everything: she served as editor of the school yearbook, elected president of the Girls Athletic Association, played varsity basketball and field hockey (earning a permanent scar above her eye from a stray hockey stick) and sing in the elite "Ten Tones" vocal ensemble. She graduated as Class Valedictorian.

Liz earned her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and began teaching home economics and general science at Radnor Junior High in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Her ambitions didn’t stop at the classroom door. In the summer of 1960, she won a scholarship to the Oslo International Summer School in Norway, where her natural leadership led to her election as student body president—an adventure crowned by a front-page newspaper appearance when she politely shook hands with His Majesty Olav, King of Norway.

Once back home, she continued her studies, riding the commuter train into Philadelphia after teaching all day to pursue higher education at Temple and the University of Pennsylvania, eventually completing all doctoral coursework for a Ph.D. at the Wharton School. In 1965, facing the choice between writing her dissertation or starting a family, Liz deliberately chose family—a trade-off she always insisted was the best deal of her life.

Her relationship with the Reverend Sherwood W. Anderson began after a formal written correspondence—he invited her to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and she accepted in kind. They married on June 27, 1964, embarking on a fifty-three-year marriage. Liz was a steady anchor in Sherwood’s pastorates at First Presbyterian Church in Chester, Pennsylvania; Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Winter Park Presbyterian Church in Florida, as well as during his twenty-seven-year career as a U.S. Navy Reserve Chaplain. Ever enterprising, Liz and Sherwood organized and led tour groups to dozens of countries, ferrying church groups across Alpine Europe and China, and once cruising past Mount Everest in a vintage DC-3 over Nepal.

One of Liz’s greatest joys was her children, David Turner and Bethany, born eight years apart. One of her most enduring memories was driving home from the hospital with eight-year-old David proudly cradling his newborn baby sister in his arms in the backseat of the family car. Liz took a break from her teaching career to dedicate herself fully to raising her children, filling their upbringing with vibrant memories: trips to see Broadway plays in New York City, sunny lemonade picnics at Baldwin Park, splash-filled afternoons at the Clifton Meadows and Cady Way pools, winter sledding down snow-covered hills, and family bike rides along the Cady Way Trail. Summers were spent returning to New Vineyard, Maine—where she and Sherwood had honeymooned—reconnecting with dear friends and family at the lake, and making regular pilgrimages back to Lykens, Pennsylvania, for family reunions and to expose her children to the authentic rhythms of farm life.

Of course, motherhood also required Liz’s formidable patience and iron resolve— especially when David was breaking curfew and nearly setting fire to the Boyer family farm, secretly shaking “itchy powder” into his sister’s bed, or conspiring with cousins Timmy, Bruce, Roger, and Joel to heist the piñata candy so little Bethany couldn’t get a single piece. Through all the boyish mischief, Liz held the reins with steady grace, fiercely parenting her children at every turn. Once her children were older, Liz returned to her passion for education, teaching middle schoolers at Glenridge Middle School in Winter Park, Florida. Throughout her life, she found deep joy in tending her garden and lending her voice to choirs, continuing to sing in harmony at Westminster Winter Park up until the week before her passing.

Liz was preceded in death by her beloved husband, the Reverend Dr. Sherwood W. Anderson (June 4, 2017), her parents, and her siblings Ray, Leona, and Paul. She is survived by her son, David Turner Anderson; daughter-in-law, Tricia Ternus Anderson; her daughter, Bethany Anderson; her three cherished grandchildren,

Sophia Elizabeth, Nia Turner, and David William Anderson; her sister, Grace Singer; as well as many loving nieces, nephews, extended family members, and dear friends.

Memorial & Burial Services

• Interment: Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, where Liz will be laid to rest alongside her husband, Sherwood. Attendees joining the interment service are kindly asked to arrive by 12:15 p.m. and assemble in Lane C. Those planning to attend the interment at Cape Canaveral are cordially invited to join the family for lunch following the service at The Native Bar and Grill, located at 2430 S. Washington Ave., Suite 115, Titusville, FL 32780.
• 
  
• Service of Remembrance: Friday, October 23, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in The

Stover Center at Westminster Winter Park, 1111 S. Lakemont Ave., Winter Park, Florida. Reception to follow in the Fireside Dining Room. All family and friends are warmly welcome. Heavy d’oeuvres will be served.

“Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her…a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” — Proverbs 31:28, 30