A Eulogy And A Remembrance Of My Dad, Mark Lloyd Anderson

My dad, Mark Lloyd Anderson, died a couple of weeks ago on 11/25/24. He had been sick with Parkinson’s Disease for many years, having been diagnosed back in 2012.

In recent months he had become much more ill after a fall and a bad choking incident, and had been in the hospital and rehab facilities. A few weeks ago when they knew he wasn’t getting better, they put my dad on hospice care.

After a week or two it became clear that his time was nearing an end. Thankfully we all had a chance to come and say our goodbyes, to give him one last hug and kiss, to sing some songs he loved and to let him know how much he meant to us.

The day after we said our goodbyes, my mom and a hospice music therapist were singing the song, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” to my dad around 1:20pm in the afternoon. They noticed my dad’s breathing was labored, and it seemed like he was stopping breathing every so often, but he would always start breathing after a pause.

They finished singing the song, which ends with these appropriate words:

Here’s my heart
Oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

After they had finished singing a visiting angel care attendant motioned that my dad had stopped breathing. They watched him, but he didn’t resume breathing and passed at 1:24pm. It was like the words of the song were meant for us, and it was an acknowledgement that he was now in God’s courts above, with his savior.

I’m thankful that his last moments were peaceful, and that he was serenaded into heaven by my mother and the music therapist.

My Dad’s Early Life

Dad was born in December 1946, the first born son of Fred and Mae Anderson in Minneapolis. He was a Christmas Eve baby, and for the rest of his days he would get the short end of the stick when it came to Christmas and Birthday gifts. He grew up in a big family with a lot of love that included 4 brothers: John, Paul, Joel and Matt.  

Dad’s passion for music was evident early on. He and his future wife, Jan, played together in the orchestra at both Roosevelt High School and the University of Minnesota. Dad and Jan were married after college and opened their hearts and home to three foster children: Dan, Shawn, and Jenny. They embraced the challenges and joys of fostering while also serving their community.  When Jan died in January 1973 after a long battle with cancer dad became a 26-year-old widower and a single father. 

A short time later I’m thankful that God brought a godly woman from his church into his life, my wonderful mom Nancy. They shared the same values, love of Jesus and music, and were married in October 1974. Just this past October they celebrated their 50th anniversary!

They went on to create a beautiful life together and had 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law and 8 grandchildren. My two children lovingly called him Far Far, which means “father’s father” in Swedish.

My Dad As A Family Man

Growing up, I was always in awe of my dad. It seemed like he knew so much, and was able to do so many things I couldn’t even begin to understand. 

One of the greatest things our dad gave to us was the gift of his presence. I know a lot of kids from our generations didn’t have dads living with them, or had dads that weren’t present emotionally. For Tom, Stevie and I our dad was always there with us whether it was helping us with our music lessons, playing basketball in the driveway, wrestling on the floor, building something in his workshop or praying with or encouraging us.  

Dad was always a loving husband to my mom, bringing her flowers, supporting her in so many ways, and giving her a kiss before leaving for work. He showed what a husband should be.

Though he was good to my mom, he did like to have fun with her as well, always finding a bit of mischievous joy in getting mom worked up. His low key sarcastic sense of humor would often get her going, and it always ended with mom exclaiming, “oh Mark, honestly!”

Music, for my dad, was one of his native languages, he spoke in a language of musical notes. He could play just about any stringed instrument, from viola to guitar to banjo.

As a violinist, I know just how hard playing strings can be, but my dad made it seem easy. I have vivid memories of asking my dad to play the Orange Blossom Special on viola. For those of you who don’t know that song it’s a difficult, fast paced fiddle song that leaves your bow smoking by the end. Dad would play the song at super speed, his bow flying across the strings while my brothers and I would dance ourselves into a frenzy. He made it seem so easy. He was that way with a lot of things.  

A Love Of Music And An Active Life

My mom and dad shared a love of music. My mom would sing in her beautiful soprano voice while my dad accompanied her on viola or guitar. Over the years we were blessed to hear my parents sing and play hundreds of beautiful hymns, worship songs and other tunes together. 

While music was very important to dad, it wasn’t his only interest.  

He was a very active person.  I always  remember him either biking, running, skiing or skating. For many years dad would bike to work every morning, no matter the weather. Even in his later years when he had Parkinson’s, he was still riding a recumbent bike, as long as he was able. 

One of my favorite personal memories of dad is going cross country skiing with him, just the two of us, on a cold, dark, winter night at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. We were the first to make a path through the fresh, sparkling snow, our breath made clouds in the air. I’d always follow right behind my dad, and follow in his tracks so I wouldn’t fall. Now that I think about it, following in my dad’s tracks is something I’ve always tried to do and not just when I was skiing with him as a 10-year-old.

The Most Important Thing To My Dad – His Faith

The most important thing in my dad’s life was his faith in Jesus Christ. My dad modeled a life of prayer and service his entire life. He not only taught us the way to go, but he gave us a godly example we could follow. He exemplified Christ’s love for our family, and for that I’m forever grateful. I’ll always remember getting up early in the morning and finding my dad in his study, either praying (often for us) or doing a Bible study. 

He wasn’t a preachy person, but he lived out his faith in action, serving his family, serving others through the church, and through his choice of a career as a teacher and as a social worker at Community Emergency Services through Augustana Lutheran church. 

In his later years as he dealt with Parkinson’s Disease and his eventual decline, I think dad felt an urgency to share his faith with others. At the time he shared with me a letter he wrote called a “neighbor story” that he would give to new neighbors who moved in or he had just met. In it, dad shared about his journey through life and how so much of his life had happened there in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood where he lived for so long. He got married to his first wife Jan, and then lost her to cancer. He met my mom, got married and had 3 sons, raised them and watched them grow up, get married and start families of their own. He played with his 8 grandchildren. He planted gardens there in the backyard for 50 years. It was a beautiful life, but as with all of us, it isn’t forever, and dad was aware of that. He wrote:

This has been a great community to raise our family in with good neighbors, quiet streets and a wonderful natural resource in Powderhorn Park. I have no specific timetable for leaving Elliot Avenue but it is inevitable that I will be moving on some day to some nice senior building, or to my Heavenly home.

In John 14:1-4 it says

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my father’s house are many rooms; If it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.

My dad continued in his letter,

I would like to invite you to be my neighbor in Heaven too. In John 3:16 it says, 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

I know dad wanted that to be shared at his funeral. That he would like to invite you to be his neighbor in heaven. He would want you to know that God loves you, and that he sent his only son to earth to give you eternal life and peace in Him. All you have to do is believe in Him and accept him into your heart. 

If you’d like to read his letter, you can find it here: A Neighbor Story

We’ll Miss You Dad

Dad, thank you for all you did for me, for our family, and those around you in the community. We’ll miss you, but I know you’re in a better place, with no pain or sorrows, no more Parkinson’s, and you’re fiddling a happy tune for your savior. 

I look forward to seeing you again in heaven so that we can worship our savior together.  

For those who might be interested, here’s a video of his funeral on 12/7/24.