Mitchell Alan Anderson

Mitchell Alan Anderson died Sunday at age 60 of heart failure complicated by advanced Parkinson’s disease, in his home in Cold Spring, MN surrounded by his family. Visitation with the family will be held from 4 – 8 p.m. Thursday, October 9 at Wenner Funeral Home in Cold Spring, Parish Prayers to follow at 8 p.m. Visitation will continue from 9 – 10:45 a.m., Friday morning in the St. Boniface Church Narthex. Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at St. Boniface Church in Cold Spring at 11 am on Friday. Mitch was born in Red Wing, MN and was a 1971 graduate of Red Wing Central High School. He was a 1976 graduate of the University of Minnesota where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He worked for several years as a professional engineer for both the City of St. Cloud and an engineering consulting firm. Mitch began working for the Stearns County Highway Department in 1987 as the Assistant County Engineer. He became the Stearns County Highway Engineer in 1999 and served in that position until he retired in 2012. In his capacity as County Engineer, he supervised the construction of the Sauk River Bridge, was instrumental in the development of the 3rd Street North expansion and was a driving force for the West Metro corridor project. He was presented the 2010 Outstanding County Engineer Award by the Minnesota County Engineer’s Association. He was a member of many professional organizations and committees at the local, state and national levels. During his tenure with Stearns County, Mitch oversaw many projects including the reconstruction of over 140 miles of highway, resurfacing of over 700 miles of roadway, replacement of over 60 bridges, and the construction of over 40 traffic signals, 4 roundabouts and over 50 miles of bike trails. Mitch was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed fishing, hunting and playing golf. He is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Suzanne, his daughters, Sarah (Chris) Lougheed, Rebecca (Adam) Ripple and his son, Carl along with his 2 granddaughters, Gracie and Audrey. He is also survived by his siblings, Jon (Rita), Greg (Domonique), Kim (Lee) Mensinger, and Kristin (Tom) Martin. He is preceded in death by his parents, Mary Belle and Robert. Mitch’s family would like to thank Dr. Bernard Erickson and his nurse, Alisha for their wonderful care and support through the past many months. Memorials are preferred to the National Parkinson’s Foundation of Minnesota.

Mitchell Alan Anderson

October 29, 1953 - October 5, 2014