1926
Dzidra
2013
Dzidra Anderson
March 1, 1926 — July 5, 2013
Dzidra Anderson, a retired social worker and resident of Port St. Lucie who had served on the boards of both Treasure Coast Hospice, where she was also a volunteer, and New Horizons, a private nonprofit mental health organization, died Friday in hospice care after a brief illness.
She was 87.
Before coming to Florida in 1990, Dzidra was a clinical social worker for 20 years with Community Mental Health in Lansing, Michigan, providing mental health services to the seriously mentally ill. A supervisor and administrator as well as a clinician, she was especially noted for her work with families. As an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University, she helped train other mental health professionals.
In retirement, she continued to combine service to others with a professional interest in mental health advocacy. In addition to her work with Treasure Coast Hospice and New Horizons, she was a member of Florida's Ombudsman Council for several years, and served as a Stephen Ministry leader through St. Andrew Lutheran Church. She was a member of the St. Lucie County Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, as well as the American Association of University Women. She remained an enthusiastic traveler until late in life, returning many times to Europe and the American West.
Dzidra Anderson was born in 1926 in Latvia. The daughter of an x-ray technician and a former nurse, she was the oldest of three sisters.
After fleeing the Russian occupation of Latvia in 1944, her family settled in Germany, where she studied at Phillips University in Marburg.
She met her future husband while working for the Lutheran World Federation, an organization dedicated to helping refugees after the war.
Winning a scholarship to the University of Nebraska, she emigrated to the United States.
Fluent in German and English as well as Latvian, she took a degree in German literature and considered a teaching career. However, her experiences working for refugee agencies and other social service organizations led her to social work. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington.
Her husband of 44 years, Dr. Joseph L. Anderson, was a Lutheran pastor and later Chairman of Humanities at Lansing Community College. They married in 1950, and lived and worked in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Lansing, Michigan before retiring to Florida.
She is survived by her sister, Ausma Losordo, two sons, Steve and John Anderson, daughter-in-law Mary, and two grandchildren, Katie and CJ.
Memorial contributions may be made to Treasure Coast Hospice, 1201 SE Indian St., Stuart, FL 34997, www.TCHospice.org
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 10th at 11:00am, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 295 NW Prima Vista Blvd, Port St. Lucie.
She was 87.
Before coming to Florida in 1990, Dzidra was a clinical social worker for 20 years with Community Mental Health in Lansing, Michigan, providing mental health services to the seriously mentally ill. A supervisor and administrator as well as a clinician, she was especially noted for her work with families. As an adjunct faculty member at Michigan State University, she helped train other mental health professionals.
In retirement, she continued to combine service to others with a professional interest in mental health advocacy. In addition to her work with Treasure Coast Hospice and New Horizons, she was a member of Florida's Ombudsman Council for several years, and served as a Stephen Ministry leader through St. Andrew Lutheran Church. She was a member of the St. Lucie County Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, as well as the American Association of University Women. She remained an enthusiastic traveler until late in life, returning many times to Europe and the American West.
Dzidra Anderson was born in 1926 in Latvia. The daughter of an x-ray technician and a former nurse, she was the oldest of three sisters.
After fleeing the Russian occupation of Latvia in 1944, her family settled in Germany, where she studied at Phillips University in Marburg.
She met her future husband while working for the Lutheran World Federation, an organization dedicated to helping refugees after the war.
Winning a scholarship to the University of Nebraska, she emigrated to the United States.
Fluent in German and English as well as Latvian, she took a degree in German literature and considered a teaching career. However, her experiences working for refugee agencies and other social service organizations led her to social work. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington.
Her husband of 44 years, Dr. Joseph L. Anderson, was a Lutheran pastor and later Chairman of Humanities at Lansing Community College. They married in 1950, and lived and worked in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Lansing, Michigan before retiring to Florida.
She is survived by her sister, Ausma Losordo, two sons, Steve and John Anderson, daughter-in-law Mary, and two grandchildren, Katie and CJ.
Memorial contributions may be made to Treasure Coast Hospice, 1201 SE Indian St., Stuart, FL 34997, www.TCHospice.org
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 10th at 11:00am, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 295 NW Prima Vista Blvd, Port St. Lucie.
To send flowers to the family in memory of Dzidra Anderson, please visit our flower store.
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