paul

paul's death / obituary


paul anderson, former state senator, dies

gowrie
funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. wednesday at the palmer funeral home, gowrie, for paul h. anderson, 71, gowrie farmer, cattle feeder and former state senator. burial will be in lost grove cemetery. memorial gifts may be made o the harcourt and gowrie town libraries.

mr. anderson died of a hear attack at his farm home five miles northeast of gowrie on sunday, june 30, 1963.

he was born in clay township, webster county, and educated in the nearby country school and at tobin college, fort dodge.

he married mabel g. johnson of gowrie in 1916, the same year he began farming the anderson homestead.

mr. anderson was active in community affairs at gowrie. he served as red cross chairman for clay township during world war I and in later years. in 1918 he was one of the prime movers in the founding of one of the earliest rural electric cooperatives in iowa. he worked toward construction of the lines which brought lights to 50 homes in southwest webster county in the early 1920's and served until 1932 as co-op secretary and manager.

he participated in the organization of the gowrie cooperative creamery and gowrie cooperative elevator and in the school consolidation movement.

a lifelong democrat, he was his party's candidate for u.s. congress in 1930. he served as county democratic chairman from 1930 to 1932 and was elected state senator from the webster-calhoun district in 1932.

among laws he successfully sponsored were one, he first of its kind in the state, prohibiting inquiry into the religion of applicants for teaching or other public positions and one requiring basic science education for chiropractors. he served through two regular and two special sessions of the 45th and 46th general assemblies, which handled depression emergency problems, post-prohibition liquor control legislation, state highway refinancing and tax reform. he was chairman of the compensation of public officers committee and ranking member on the ways and means and fish and gam committees of the senate.

surviving are his wife; six children, charles d. anderson, who is sunday editor of the sioux city journal, mrs. robert gibbs of des moines, who husband is executive secretary of the iowa pharmaceutical association, mrs russell petersen of gowrie, john anderson, publisher of the britt tribune, mrs. donald currey of arlington, texas, and mrs. richard paulos of davenport. there are 17 grandchildren.