Ronnie Nelson Anderson ’62, 71, died Nov. 18 in Cheyenne, Wyo. Anderson was born May 21, 1940, in Mocksville, N.C., and grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C. He went to Davidson, where he played on the basketball team and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. In his junior year, he transferred to the UNC Chapel Hill, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He completed his undergraduate work in 1962, and continued on to graduate school in finance at UNC, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1972. After graduate school, he took a teaching job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also met his wife, Suzanne. He later joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in College Park. Eventually, he left teaching and worked first in research at the Treasury Department, and then as director of research for the trust department of Equitable Trust Bank in Baltimore.
He later joined Investment Counselors of Maryland and then moved to Boston to become vice president of Fidelity Investments. He subsequently left to join Colonial Management as vice president managing the bond department. In Boston, he and Suzanne pursued their love of sailing, racing International 210’s for 15 years in Hingham and Gloucester, Mass. After retirement the family moved to Sequim, Wash., where Anderson and his son, Whittaker, spent many days exploring the nearby parks and forests.
His favorite pastime was participating in activities with his son, Whittaker. They shared a common interest in investing as well as skiing (including heli-skiing), sailing, and dirt biking. For a while, they launched rockets off the porch in Massachusetts. Cheyenne became Anderson’s home in May 2010. He enjoyed the people and the open space. He was respected and admired as a man of integrity and kindness.
Anderson is survived by his beloved son, Whittaker Wilmeth Anderson; his friend and former wife, Suzanne Wilmeth Anderson, 801 Orion Dr., Cheyenne, WY 82009-8518; his dear niece, Leslie Anderson Newsome, (Ashley); grandniece, Elliot; sister-in-law, Linda Anderson; and many friends. He was preceded in death by his brother, Larry Anderson, and his parents, Elvie Godbey Nevins and A. Wayne Anderson.
Memorials may be made to Davidson College, Box 7174, Davidson, NC 28035-7174.