Vernon "Sonny" Anderson

Vernon Anderson was known in this area as "SONNY" and he was just that kind of person; "SUNNY" in his nature.

Sonny passed away suddenly from a heart attack late in the afternoon on September 15th.

Some solace can be found in that he died in the arms of a very dear friend of his who deeply appreciated him.

He had a huge loving heart and a kind and most gentle soul.

Children and animals were especially drawn to Sonny, and his playfulness brought joy to them.

He was loved by men and women alike.

He was one who always smiled when he saw you, engaged you in pleasant conversation, and put you at ease.

If he saw that you had a need and he could fill it he would.

He brought firewood so your home could be warm because he cared about you.

He would shovel snow, fix your car, or even give you his hard-earned money for a bus ticket to safety.

This was a man who would literally give you the shirt off his back.

He gave so much to so many people with his generosity, yet he never would want or expect anything in return.

Sonny had a hard life, and he worked hard throughout his life. He was blessed with skills that helped him navigate that life. He was a welder, electrician, plumber, auto repairman, auto body man, painter, equipment operator, ditch digger, tree faller; he could do all that and more. What Sonny most loved to do was to mine gold. He read about it, studied it, watched shows about it, and the last two years he went to Arizona and mined his own claim. It cost him more than he earned, but his passion fueled him on and that hope of finding "the" big gold nugget was always just at the tip of his fingers.

While many people here knew Sonny over the last 22 years, he was quiet about a lot of his own life experiences.

We really do not know much about his younger life and his extended family, as he was more focused on helping others than talking about himself.

"Vernon Anderson," born in W. Virginia, was 1 of 11 siblings.

Times were hard then.

His dad, Leonard, and his mom Elizabeth, split up when he was young.

The five brothers, (Vernon, Leonard, Buzzy, Michael and Ernie), moved together to one foster home and his sisters, (Alberta, Beverly, Roxanne, Cathy, Debbie, and Margie), went to live with their aunts.

Most of the family, these more recent years, have held family reunions.

Sonny was hoping to get to one of those this year to reconnect with his brothers and sisters.

His brother, Leonard, and Vernon, the oldest of the 5 brothers, were best friends growing up and Leonard said with heartfelt love that if you saw one you would always see the other.

We want all of his family to know how much he was loved by us here in the Sisters community.

Vernon's life called him to "drift west." We do know that in Charleston, SC he worked at the shipyards doing underwater welding.

In Virginia Beach he did body work.

He spent some time in Colorado and eventually found his way as far west as Sisters, Oregon where he met his wife and best friend, Nan.

They were married on August 5, 1994.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother, his brother Ernie, and his sisters Debbie and Margie.

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, October 3 at the Ski Inn. Please bring a dish. Plates and utensils will be provided. Please bring your stories of Sonny to share. We know there are many.

Sonny touched so many lives. Those lives he touched are better by having known him.