SENIOR SALUTE

Colleen Anderson

For this article, Colleen stated (tongue-in-cheek) that she never got far in life. This is because she now lives only 25 minutes from her childhood home. This family farm is still run by a 5th Generation member of her family.

Colleen is the eldest of 4 children— 3 girls and 1 boy. She grew up a tomboy - driving tractors, milking cows, and performing other chores familiar to farm kids, both before, and, of course, after school.

Colleen was never one to sit idle when there were so many interesting things to do and see all around her. She was active in 4-H, Sunday School, and church. In between farm chores and these activities, she loved to ride the section roads around the farm on her bicycle with or without her cousins. When she graduated from Alta Vista Public School, it wasn’t long before she was selected as Geary County Dairy Princess.

Colleen met her future husband at Jr/Sr Prom in high school. They each came with a separate date, but enjoyed each other’s company and humor so much, that this chance encounter developed into a 4-year courtship. They talked about getting married after she graduated from college in June because her parents had warned her that if she got married before finishing her degree, they wouldn’t continue to finance her studies. However, the powers that be intervened to make a slight change in their plans.

Colleen was just two months from completing all her course work for a degree in Medical Technology from Kansas State University when Kenny received notice to report to the Army for a physical before his Guard Unit was to activate and ship out to Vietnam. Upon getting this news, the couple decided to get married within the week.

Colleen and her mother planned the wedding for Friday, May 3rd, and arranged for a ‘chivary’ on Saturday after Kenny got his crop out (it was planting season, after all). Then on Sunday, Kenny reported for his physical. That’s when he was told that he failed the physical and that his service in the Guard was terminated due to the injuries he had suffered the previous November in a farm-related accident.

Kenny had purchased a farm near his family’s homestead the previous March, and had completely furnished it, so when they decided to get married, this was where they began their life together and made plans to start a family.

Another indication that God was active in the lives of these two young people was when Colleen went to her doctor’s office in Council Grove to get the required blood tests needed to obtain a marriage license. She mentioned to the doctor that she and Kenny were getting married in a couple days, and that she would be graduating from Kansas State with a degree in Medical Technology. He listened to her story as he drew her blood and then excused himself from the room for a few minutes. When he returned, he had another doctor with him. Together, they offered her a job with their practice paying a whooping $3.25 an hour! She accepted and worked for them for two years before leaving to work at Morris County Hospital in 1970 where she worked for the next 19 1/2 years!

In July of 2017, while Kenny was home alone, a terrible wind and weather event tore the roof off their farmhouse! The couple moved into Council Grove. In Sept. of that year, they traveled to Sweden to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Kenny sadly passed away in January of 2018. Colleen still lives in that house with Charlie, a striped cat who decided to adopt her.

As mentioned already, Colleen is not someone who watches grass grow under her feet. She was, and still is, an extremely busy lady, sharing her God-given leadership skills in various community and state positions over the years, such as with the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Daughters of the American Revolution where she is currently a District Director, and her local Chapter Regent. In addition, research into her family history has resulted in her submitting an application to the Mayflower Society of Kansas.

How Colleen manages to find the time for hobbies and other pursuits is a mystery. She sings, plays 4 musical instruments, volunteers at the Council Grove Senior Center, and is on the board of the Morris County Senior Centers, as well as having an active interest in local and state government.

She has also acted and sang in local theater productions such as “Oklahoma” and had the lead in “Annie Get Your Gun.” She has two sons— Dennis and Brian. Between them, she has 1 grandson, 3 granddaughters, and three great-granddaughters.

Colleen Anderson is a person of substance that you should know!