Clyde Merlin Anderson, 85, peacefully passed away on May 23, 2021. 
He had recently moved from Iola to Portland, Ore. to live near his son and a daughter. Cancer swiftly took Clyde from us.
The son of John Byron Anderson and Veda Mae Bidwell, and raised with the love of Helen Gilliland/Norman, Clyde graduated from Moran High School in 1954, then worked stables in the Kansas City area and racing tracks back east for a few years. He loved the horses to the very end.
After serving in the U.S. Army, Clyde moved to Kansas City and worked at Woolf Brothers men’s clothing. He finished his proud career in wholesale candy and tobacco in 2001, referring to many co-workers and customers as friends.
After marrying Peggy Kay Hands of Overland Park in 1965, they had three children who survive: Trell, Tonya and Tara. Also surviving Clyde are his brother Robert (Bob) Anderson; sister Sandra Hosley; several nieces and nephews. Survivors in the Iola area include Karon West, Diane Bedenbender and Teresa Kramer, who invited Clyde to family gatherings and looked in on him. Carrying Clyde’s legacy forward are grandsons Rowan and Kaelan Anderson.
Clyde had plenty of friends and was friendly to many. Easy to please but not easily impressed, he never wanted to impose on anyone, was always willing to help and gave compassionately from what little he had.
In his memory and to celebrate Clyde’s life please consider making donations to Kansas Public Broadcasting, Hope Unlimited in Iola, and/or the Kansas Children’s Service League.
Clyde requested that his final resting place be the Flint Hills of Kansas where his ashes are to be released among sunflowers and tall grasses, with the gentle wind.
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