Virginia (Kerr) Anderson

Virginia Kerr Anderson, 93, of Livingston, Montana, passed away Saturday, December 23, 2017 at her home in Tom Miner Basin. Virginia was born on December 8, 1924, in Buffalo, New York. She was the daughter of Donald and Gwendolyn (Coffin) Kerr. She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., where her studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II. She later continued her education at Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois, and Montana State University, in Bozeman, MT, earning a Bachelors Degree in Sociology in 1978. Virginia and Jackson Pope were married in Ithaca, N.Y. on February 26, 1944, and had two children, Geoffrey and Jackson. Her husband, Jack, died from complications with polio in 1949. Virginia met Andy Anderson through the long friendship between the Pope and Anderson families in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She and Andy were married in Ithaca on May 22, 1951, and had two children together, Andrew, Jr. "Hannibal" and Samuel. In 1953, Virginia and Andy purchased a small ranch located on Mill Creek, south of Livingston, Montana, and in 1955, they moved to a ranch in Tom Miner Basin, where Virginia lived for the remainder of her life. Virginia volunteered at Livingston Public Library, was a Hospice Volunteer, and was a member of the Park County Planning Commission in the 1970s. She especially enjoyed her family, her children, and grandchildren, and fully embraced the landscapes inherent beauty and integrity, raising bountiful vegetable and flower gardens, and enjoying the solitude of long walks in her beloved aspen groves. Virginia is survived by her sons: Geoff Pope (Iris), Jack Pope (Sarah), Andrew "Hannibal" Anderson, Jr. (Julianne), and Sam Anderson, thirteen grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends. Virginia is preceded in death by her parents, Donald Kerr and Gwendolyn Coffin Kerr, her first husband, Jackson Pope, her sisters, Margaret (Margie) Flagg and Elizabeth (Betsy) Black, her husband, Andy Anderson, and a grandson, Jackson Pope. Cremation has taken place at the Franzen-Davis Crematory. A private gathering for friends and family will be held in the summer. Memorials may be sent to Stafford Animal Shelter or Livingston Health Care Hospice.