Edna Conrad Anderson

Edna Conrad Anderson (1919 2015)
Edna Conrad Anderson, of Rancho Mirage, passed away on February 25, 2015.
Born on March 8, 1919 in St. James, Minnesota to Antonia Rovelstad and Titus Anderson Conrad, she had three elder brothers, Theodore, Luther and William, and one sister Louise. With her family, she lived in Mason City and Des Moines, Iowa before moving to Florida where she attended Miami High School. There she met her future husband Dole Anderson. She attended the University of Miami for 2 years, and, after their marriage in 1940, lived in New York City.
From 1952 to 1966, she, her husband and four daughters, Karen, Kristen, Judith and Dona lived in Brazil where her husband was employed. From 1966 to 1968, they lived in Bangkok, Thailand. Back in the U.S., at age 50, Edna resumed her studies at Michigan State University and completed her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Art History. She was employed at the Kresge Art Gallery at MSU, during which time she organized an exhibit of Brazilian Naïve artists that was shown at Kresge and several Michigan galleries. After her husband's retirement in 1980, the couple moved to Palm Springs and Edna became a docent at Palm Springs Art Museum (then, Palm Springs Desert Museum). She felt privileged to be asked to catalogue the art collection bequeathed to the museum by William Holden; afterward she became an Art Research Associate on staff.
Together with her husband Dole and children, Edna travelled extensively in South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and her interest in international affairs never waned. She was a member of Hope Lutheran Church in Palm Desert (for 30 years), the Palm Springs branch of the American Association of University Women, the World Affairs Council of the Desert, and the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Edna was preceded in death by her husband Dole Abel Anderson in 1996. She is survived by her daughters: Karen Anderson and partner Michael Brewster of Venice, CA; Kristen Anderson and husband Jim Quinn of Redwood City; Judith Miller and husband Dale of Nederland, Colorado; and Dona Lally and husband Michael of Rancho Mirage; five grandsons, Timothy, Charles, Casey, Michael and Eric, one granddaughter Jessica, and five great-grandchildren; Isabelle, Genevieve, Makena, Beckett and Ainsley.
A memorial service will be held on March 28 at 1:30 pm at Hope Lutheran Church, 45-900 Portola Ave., Palm Desert. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Church or to Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297 (lwr.org/donate)