First Rate Care

Shirley Anderson

Shirley Andersen, 98, was born on October 12, 1923 to John W. and Clara M. (Drevland) Fritz on the home farm at Bath SD. She was baptized and confirmed in the Bath Methodist Church. Her siblings are Beverly (Snooks) Benson and Donna Schmidt still living. Four are deceased, Johnny Fritz, Roy (Bud) Fritz, Bonnie Richard, and Evelyn Schroeder. Shirley and Ted Andersen were married at the home farm on May 16, 1946.

Their children are Craig Andersen, West Fargo, ND, Lynne Gullickson, Fertile, John Andersen, Fort Mohave, AZ, and Kim Andersen, Beltrami. Shirley has seven grandchildren and 1 1 great-grandchildren. Shirley graduated from the Bath High School. She then attended Northern Normal in Aberdeen, SD. Following that, she worked at the Aberdeen National Bank before she was married and worked until she had her first baby.

On Labor Day weekend 1951, they moved to Beltrami, MN, so Ted could be the manager of the Cenex LP Gas Plant in Beltrami. Shirley thought he was bringing her to the end of the world. This is where they raised their family and enjoyed living.

She joined the United Methodist Church. She held many offices in the United Methodist Women and church council. She was the Sunday School Superintendent and Adult leader for the Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF). She belonged to the Elizabeth Evening Circle. She and a few ladies from the church made the table decorations for their annual Barbecue every year.

She was a charter member of the Beltrami Garden Club that was started in 1957. She began working as a clerk at the Beltrami Post Office. She also worked as a Floater at Neilsville, Mentor, Crookston, Euclid Post Offices. She and Ted traveled together to all 48 states in the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. They did several bus trips with friends and also took vacations with good friends during the winter months and would stop along the way to visit friends and relatives who lived in warmer areas.

She had many hobbies and was always ready to fry new ones. She loved sewing and made many outfits and quilts. She could alter and figure out how to make something without patterns. Each of her grandchildren received a quilt for their graduations. She made Cabbage Patch dolls for her grandchildren. She loved painting. She did many folk art things and even painted pictures. Ted would make wooden things and she would paint them. She crocheted, knitted, and did many other handcrafts.

Shirley loved roller skating in high school and dating. When she dated Ted, they were quite the couple out the roller skating floor. When she worked at the bank during World War Il, she was at the train station on bank business and ran into Clark Gable, this was a highlight for her.