Donald "Don" J. Anderson, 84, passed away on February 16, 2023, at his home in University Place after prolonged health issues and hospice care.

Don was born to Albin and Myrtle Anderson on June 22, 1938. He grew up in University Place with his sister, Ida Mae (Salatino). He attended University Place School, where his father was on the school board, and George Curtis was the principal, superintendent, and bus driver. With no local high school, Don attended and graduated from Clover Park High School in 1956 and then went to Whitman College, where he earned his degree in Economics and Business. While at Whitman, he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, where he met his lifelong friends Lloyd Elmer and Mike Rogers. At Whitman, he also met the love of his life, Diana Yansen, whom he married in 1962. He and Diana had two children – Kristina "Kristy" (Younger) and David.

After graduation, he joined the family business, Hampton Lumber, in Tacoma, where he became president. In addition to managing the wholesale building business, he also served as a developer and general contractor building numerous houses in West Pierce County. He enjoyed the design aspect of creating well-built, high-end homes for families.

After closing the lumberyard, he devoted his time to land development projects and maintaining his immaculate one-acre-plus landscaped grounds. He found joy in mowing the lawn with his riding lawnmowers, of which he had two--in case one had to go into the shop. For recreation, he relished road trips. He had a new truck delivered to a distant city a couple of times so he could fly there, pick it up, and drive home across the country. It was common for him to say, "I feel like a hamburger." This meant he planned to go over Chinook Pass to Miner's Drive-In near Yakima, eat a hamburger there, and drive home all that day. Or say, "Today, I'm heading around the loop," meaning driving the Olympic Peninsula Loop, stopping at Ruby Beach a few miles north of Kalaloch.

Don found great joy in spending time with his children, grandchildren (Anderson "Andy" Younger and Avaline and Asha Anderson), and other family members who miss him greatly.