Corbett Anderson

Corbett Glen Anderson, beloved son, brother, husband, father, and friend to all, passed away peacefully at Spring Hills Senior Community in Middletown, Ohio on Wednesday, October 18, 2017.

Glen was surrounded by family and friends as his spirit made its inspired passing into the hereafter. At the exact moment of his last breath--a death attributed to a GI hemorrhage following a long and hard-fought battle with Alzheimer's disease--a heavenly chorus of birds sang through the open window of his room, a fitting accompaniment for a man who loved nature and all of its creatures.

Born to Ruby and Claude Anderson in the WM Ritter logging company town of Daisy, Kentucky, Glen was a rambunctious outdoorsman from an early age. He boldly plied the rough waters of Southeast Virginia in canoes, hunted squirrels and rabbits in the dense woods, got into a bushel of now-legendary adventures and escapades, and generally lived a free-spirited mountain boy's life.

When his father passed away at a young age in 1954, Glen stood tall as the teenage patriarch of the Anderson family. His father's death, on top of his little sister Gail's passing not long before, created a loving, supportive bond between himself, his mother Ruby (a school teacher) and his little brother Harry Anderson that will endure forever.

With muscles packed onto his 6'4" frame from a youth spent hiking, swimming, digging, running, paddling, and hauling every obstacle a mountain boy can encounter (and overcome) Glen developed a unique set of athletic skills that translated into his becoming a dominant high school basketball player, eventually setting school scoring records at tiny Haysi High, garnering him the moniker of "the Terror of Southwest Virginia."

Despite his excellence on the court, he was not recruited by any major colleges due to the small program in Haysi. Determined to see their star get his due, a group of townsmen called UT coach John Sines, who listened one by one as local business leaders and coaches vouched for his talents and work ethic. Sight unseen, Glen earned a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Tennessee, where he studied Business, becoming the first Anderson to graduate from a major college. He played three successful years at Tennessee, developing friendships with teammates that lasted a lifetime.

Before and during college, Glen was a devoted Boy Scout, attending and later working at summer camps, where his love of rivers and streams made it a natural that he would teach swimming and serve as lifeguard. He also served in the Army Reserve, based out of Fort Eustis, Virginia, including an active duty stint in the Army during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where he played basketball on the traveling post team and worked on tanks in between buckets.

In 1962, he took a job with RJR Reynolds Tobacco in transportation and logistics, managing warehousing, trucking and shipping. In his off-time, he also played semi-professional basketball with the Winston Salem Bullets.

It was on one of those business calls in Kernersville, North Carolina, that Glen met a beautiful young customer service rep at Roadway Express named Phyllis. A spark that lasted a lifetime and then some was ignited. He took the future Mrs. Anderson on their first date, fittingly a Wake Forest vs. Tennessee basketball game. Five months later, the two were engaged, and just a month after that, on June 8, 1968, the two lovebirds were married at English Street Baptist Church in High Point. First son Alton was born in 1969, and another son, Corbett followed in 1972.

Glen's work ethic shined through as he climbed the corporate ladder. He travelled all over the country, was active in civic leagues and president of independent trucking companies, and yet always made time for his immediate family, while also visiting and helping to care for his mom, mother-in-law Martha Tullis and sister-in-law Carla, as well as his beloved brother Harry, a teacher and coach in Spruce Pine, NC.

The Anderson family lived an ideal life together, camping, four-wheeling, fishing, road-tripping, and exploring the west coast after relocating to the San Francisco when Del Monte Foods merged with RJR in 1980. As Director of Transportation of one of the largest corporations in the world, Glen handled an immense workload with his trademark dry Anderson wit, sly smile and instinctive business acumen.

Retirement from Del Monte came early, leaving Glen with a desire to continue working. In 1994, seeking to be closer to family back east, with his boys now out of the house pursuing their own careers, (Alton, or Ody, as he is known, spent 27 years fighting fires in Colorado and is now Southeast Regional Aviation Manager for the National Park Service in Atlanta, GA. Corbett, known as Corby, based out of Aspen, Colorado, teaches media courses at Colorado Mountain College and is a video director for sports, music and corporate events around the country) Glen took an executive transportation role with US Playing Cards in Cincinnati. He and Phyllis settled into a beautiful three-story house in Kings Mills, Ohio, where they remained for several decades.

Once he officially retired for good, Glen kept busy helping Phyllis to assist in raising family friend Kristopher (Kris) Wilson Cook, who will be entering the Air Force as a Fusion Analyst following graduation from high school in May, 2018. He also helped take care of his mother, his mother-in-law, and sister-in law in their convalescence.

He was a voracious reader (especially enjoying Louis L'Amour and Lewis Grizzard books), made top-notch slingshots out of Haysi hardwood, and relished reuniting with his old UT teammates, as well as helping to lead the Anderson Family Reunion at the Breaks Interstate Park each year. He and Phyllis loved to visit son Ody, his wife Noel and grandson Jake in Florida. In 2015, Glen was honored by Haysi High School as the first, and one of the few players to total 1000 career points in school history.

Glen Anderson will be forever remembered as the very definition of "A Good Man." His charming demeanor, friendly nature, wonderful sense of humor, knack for tall tales, adventurous spirit, generosity and total love for family is a legacy that will live on forever.

Glen was preceded in death by his father Claude Alton Anderson, sister Judith Gail Anderson, father-in-law Harold Ware Tullis, mother Ruby Kiser Anderson Forcum, sister-in-law Carla Elaine Tullis, and mother-in-law Martha Rogers Tullis.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Tullis Anderson (Kernersville, NC), who has displayed incredible devotion and strength in caring for Glen for 50 years, son Alton Tullis Anderson, daughter-in-law Noel Stewart (Karzen) Anderson, grandson Jake Takoda Anderson (all of Roswell, GA), son Corby Anderson and granddog Hondo (Basalt, CO), brother Harry Kiser Anderson, sister-in-law Sharon Simpson Anderson, nephew Keegan Brown Anderson, his wife Samantha (Bakersville, NC), nieces Mindy Kyle Anderson Smith, her husband Cale (Newland, NC), and Monique Kay Anderson (Spruce Pine, NC), as well as very special cousins Kay Sutherland Kuchan and husband Bob, and Jerry Dick Sutherland and his wife Mary Lee (all of Abingdon, VA)

A celebration of Glen Anderson's life will be held on Saturday, October 28, 3:00 pm at Hayworth - Miller Funeral Home, 141 Smith Edwards Road, Kernersville, NC, 27284.

A similar celebration will occur at the Breaks Interstate Park, near Haysi, VA, in the spring. The date will be announced at the appropriate time in the Dickenson Star.

In lieu of flowers, the Anderson family requests that you consider making a donation in memory of Glen to either or both of the following causes that Glen believed deeply in:

Boy Scouts of America
Sequoyah Council
Johnson City, TN 37602

Alzheimers Association
act.alz.org/donate

"A job worth doing is a job well done" - C. Glen Anderson

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