Family and friends will gather October 28 to celebrate the life of Gerald (Jerry) Andersen. Here’s the remembrance they’re sharing with the community:

Jerry passed away on September 26 after a 2½-month battle with a bacterial infection.

He was born in Seattle on January 15, 1938 to Earl and Mabel Andersen. He was the youngest of their two sons. Started school on Queen Anne Hill but the family moved to West Seattle while he was in grade school. He was a proud graduate of West Seattle High School, class of 1956.

After high school he briefly attended the University of Washington, but went to work for Boeing in 1958. Started at Plant 2, but then went to the Auburn Plant. He worked there for 40 years and retired in 1998.

He met his wife, Marie, in 1966 and they were married later that year. The following year they moved to Auburn and bought a new house which they still lived in.

Jerry loved pheasant hunting and fishing. He spent many weekends in Eastern Washington with his Dad and Brother hunting for birds. He and Marie purchased an English Springer Spaniel in 1967 who of course loved going hunting also. Over the years they had several Springers and did some dog showing and a little breeding. They owned several Champions.

But his main love was salmon and halibut fishing. He fished at Sekiu, Washington, for many years and had his own boat. In the ’90s he was able to fly up to Alaska with friends and went fishing there. He fell in love with the state and the fishing. So when he retired, they bought a travel trailer and drove the Al-Can Highway to Alaska. Over the years he met some wonderful people there and of course enjoyed the fishing. He caught some large salmon and many halibut, including one 98 pounds. He and Marie were so fortunate to keep going north until 2019.

He joined the newly built Auburn YMCA and thoroughly enjoyed going there to work out and use the pool. He met many nice people there and may have spent more time visiting than exercising.

Jerry is survived by his wife of 56 years, Marie. By his sisters-in-laws, Carol Andersen, Margaret Minar & Kathryn Minar. By his brother-in-law, Jim (Kerry) Minar. By his nieces Becky Patterson & Debbie( Paul) de Muelenaere. By his great nieces and nephew, Michelle Patterson, Christina (Derek) Franz & Ryan de Muelenaere, and by his great-great-nephews Alex & Owen Franz.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Jerry on Saturday , October 28th, at 1:00 p.m. It will be held at the Federal Way Senior Center. The address is 4016 S. 352nd, Auburn.

RSVP by October 19 to sportsmaness@aol.com

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jerry’s memory to the Auburn Valley YMCA, 1620 Perimeter Rd South, Auburn WA 98001

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)