A memorial service is planned June 7th for Earl M. Anderson, known as “Matt.” Here’s the remembrance his family is sharing with the community:

Earl Mathias “Matt” (Mathers) Anderson was born on March 13, 1940 to Chester and Clara (Barstad) Anderson in Glasgow, Montana.

Over time he attended First Lutheran Church of Glasgow, First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, Silverdale Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood. He graduated from West Seattle High School in 1958 and shortly thereafter met and married Judith “Judy” Arlene Fulcher, earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, and spent the bulk of his career at Boeing working on a variety of aircraft

Matt lost his beloved wife Judy to cancer in 1983, leaving Boeing shortly thereafter for computer programming contract jobs in Massachusetts, Alabama, and Texas. A career highlight was working for NASA on the Challenger Space Shuttle program.

Matt relocated to Hood Canal, where he built a home before eventually settling on Dyes Inlet. Matt passionately loved water sports, games, skiing, classical music, and was known for his quirky sense of humor, intellectual curiosity, deep love of faith and family and applying a critical lens to the status quo.

Matt passed away peacefully on April 30th, 2019. He is survived by beloved longtime girlfriend Cheryl Atwood of Edmonds; son Philip (Shelly) Anderson of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, daughters Terese (Wayne) Machmiller of West Seattle and Janine (Peter) Douglass of Renton; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and Cheryl’s beautiful family. Remembrances may be made to Bridge Ministries in Bellevue, Kaiser Palliative Care, or Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Memorial Service: Friday, June 7, 3:00 pm, at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, 4105 California Avenue SW.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)