Reuben Anderson was born July 31, 1898, in Chicago, Illinois, to his Swedish
immigrant parents Victor and Hanna Anderson, and passed away 6:00 A.M. Thursday
morning, September 2, 1982, at his home in Albin, Wyoming.

 Reuben lived with his family in Missouri, Iowa, and Washington before they
moved to Wyoming and homesteaded in 1909.  Reuben has lived on the family
homestead ever since he was 11 years of age, and it was from that home, built by
his parents, that the Lord took him home to his eternal glory.

That homestead life was shared with his two brothers, Elam and Lawrence,
and three sisters, Esther, Ruth and Delight.

Every life is punctuated by significant dates.  There were two such dates
that determined his destiny more than any other.  The first date occurred in
the year 1907 when Reuben attended an evangelistic service in Iowa with his
parents and was brought to the conviction of his need for a Savior by the
blind Evangelist, Rev. Freeman.  That date more than any other, was to shape his
demeanor in life.  To live for his Lord was his ultimate goal in life.  The other
most significant date occurred on October 25, 1923, when he was joined in holy
matrimony to Ruth Marie Lundberg.  To this blessed union of 59 years, God granted
four children: Melvin of Denver, Colo., Ila Marie McIlvain of Cheyenne, Rodney
of Pine Bluffs, and Donald of Albin.

If a husband and wife's major objective in life is readily observed by
the values picked up by their children and grand children and great-grandchildren,
it can be said of Ruth and Reuben, "They sought the Lord all the days of their
lives, and their righteousness is being passed on to their children's children."
Is there a greater legacy one can leave behind than to know your children and
your children's children love the Lord?

Involvement characterized Reuben's commitment to his convictions in life.
His commitment to Jesus as his Savior was demonstrated as he followed the Lord
in believer's Baptism as a young lad at the Gary Baptist Church; his commitment
as an adult to assist high school students in their walk with the Lord -- a
commitment that helped shape many of your lives here today, a commitment that
lasted over 40 years; his commitment to exalt and praise the Lord in regular
public worship as acknowledged by his 45 years of ministry in the church choir
as a tenor; his commitment to God's world-wide mission of bringing the Good
News of the Savior to mankind everywhere was evidenced by his years of service
on the Baptist General Conference World Mission Board and the Board of Trustees and
his world-wide travel to visit missionaries and encourage them in their
ministries; his commitment in supporting the local church ministry with his
regular attendance and seeing that his children did the same.  Broader yet,
his commitment as God's man touched other areas of life.  He was a hard-working
farmer, and in the 30s, when times were rough and he could have lost the farm,
rather than throw in the towel, he traveled throughout the state of Wyoming
selling insurance to help raise the necessary money to keep the farm and maintain
his commitment to care for his family.  This same ambition and drive was to
characterize his commitment to the Farm Bureau Organization with which he was deeply
involved for many years and eleven of those years served as Wyoming President.  It
was also during this time as a representative of Farm Bureau that he had a meeting
with former President Eisenhower, which he told me some years later was one of
the highlights of his life.  His commitment as a Christian statesman to his community
and state was also expressed in the 10 years he served in the Wyo. House
and Senate as a lawmaker, and the labor and energy he invested to instigate the
paving of the highway between Pine Bluffs and Albin, a service he knew was needed
for his neighbors and friends.   His commitment to being well read and informed
about local and national events demonstrated that he was committed in his mind.
How often did you go to Reuben's home and see a stack of literature beside
his chair?  Reuben indeed was a man of energy who invested that energy for the
Lord and the service of his fellowman.

Reuben will be keenly missed by all of us, but especially by those family
members he leaves behind: his dear wife Ruth, his four children and their
spouses, his sister Delight, his 15 grandchildren, his 6 great-grandchildren.

Reuben, we'll miss you.  We've told you during your life, as we tell you
now at your death, "we love you."  And thanks for your many gestures of
encouragement, your gentle love pats, your kind words, your wit and humor,
your prayers, your example, your counsel.

Reuben has left us -- "But Reuben," I ask, “was it worth it -- was your life
of service to God, family and country worth it?"  The answer came at his bedside
as Dennis and Barbara sang to him in the hospital,” Count your blessing, name
them one by one."  After they finished singing, Dennis asked, "Grandpa, can you
still count your blessings?'  He replied, "No, I've just too many to count."
 And it was to Ila Marie that Reuben indicated his numerous dreams of the Lord's
coming and taking him home.  Ila Marie asked, "Dad, was it as great as you
thought it would be?"  His reply: "It was just great."  And when I visited him
last spring in the hospital, I said,”Reuben, perhaps the Lord will soon take
you home.  I have a favor to ask of you. When you enter heaven, will you
look up my dad and greet him for me."  To this Reuben replied, "I wonder what
room he'll be in."  Thursday morning Reuben found that room.  Now he waits with
Jesus for us.  God Bless his memory.