Scott Robert Anderson

Scott Robert Anderson was born on May 14th, 1961 in Riverside NJ to Robert and Gail Anderson, arriving in this world at a hefty 8lbs 4 1/2ozs and living the rest of his life in the same 'big' way. Scott spent his early life in New Jersey with his parents, his sister Deborah Anderson, with friends and family in Beverly, Surf City and beyond. It was there that Scott's late grandfather Mario Farias introduced him to the water that he fell in love with for the rest of his life, spending much of his youth in the ocean or the bay.

He was a surfer, a kayaker, a water skier and a boater (he also took long baths when separated from water for too long :-)). He may have been a fish that came ashore to pretend to be a man.

Scott's final and best joke was to leave all of us exactly 50 years after his original debut. He gave us half of a century to get to know him and then he called it quits.

Scott met his wife Pam in October of 1986 and married her on October 22, 1992; he spent almost half of his life with her in Pennsylvania, where he obtained his GED, attended college for a few years in pursuit of a degree in Sociology, established a small, successful landscaping and home repair business and became an avid golfer (as well as an archer...for squirrel control...). Scott devoted time to the care of animals, interning as a veterinary assistant, and helping wildlife injured in and around the Schuylkill River. He supported the counseling of prison inmates to help them achieve a better future.

Despite his appearance of respectability, Scott never lost his penchant for a do-rag, a flat cap, or a gaudy straw river hat. He often arrived at holiday parties wearing an appropriate hat for the occasion (Dr. Suess hat, Santa Joker cap, Goofy hat, Jingle Bell hat, and on, and on).

Vince Farias, his uncle, was an inspiration to Scott and taught him to experience life on its terms, enjoy it and to take advantage of what it has to offer. Scott studied martial arts and achieved a phenomenal depth of meditation. He worked with Bokken, Nunchaku, and collected decorative samurai swords as well as fencing swords. Scott was also an avid collector (or, trash collector, as Pam would say) of 'antiques.' Scott scoured flea markets and yard sales for ink wells, antique tools, fossils and collectible Avon cologne containers.

Scott moved with Pam to Texas in late 2007, closing his business so that she could take advantage of a promotional opportunity. Plagued by back problems through the years, Scott embarked on a life of leisure that included lake boating, photography , and agitating folks by cursing the Dallas Cowboys at every opportunity (as well as regularly sporting Philadelphia sports teams' jerseys and caps).

Scott also took every available opportunity to satisfy his 'need for speed,' and was looking forward to road trips to see his family and friends on the East Coast this fall as well as his nephew on the West Coast this summer. For those that knew of his personal struggles, Scott used one of his nine lives in November 2009 to recover from multi-organ failure but took good care of himself afterwards, maintaining sobriety for 18 months until the time of his death and topping it all off with quitting smoking the week before he passed.

Sandy Fogel and her family, friends of Scott's during his teenage years, taught him how to be generous. Throughout his life, Scott gave of himself anything needed by the people that he loved, strangers in distress, and animals in need of rescue and children who wanted a friend. Those of us who knew him well were showered with his generosity of spirit, time and assistance. He never gave up, no matter how unfriendly the world often was to him. He had a big heart; a big spirit and a big smile that made most folks hearts melt (even when he was irritating them). You knew he was a friend to you when he teased you mercilessly; it was his way of being affectionate.
Scott is survived by his wife, Pam Anderson, his father and mother, Bob and Gail Anderson, his sister Deborah Anderson and her son, Dylan Faux, Dylan's fiancée, Jackie Wright, and Scott's great nephew, Zane Faux. He adored his niece Abby Ditton and nephew Luke Ditton, his sister-in-law Theresa Ditton and her husband Paul (his cigar buddy). He is also survived by his mother-in-law Dolores Furlan, brother-in-law Andrew Bolmarcich, and his father-in-law Joe Bolmarcich as well as Joe's wife Cynthia Latham.

One of the last things Scott jotted down on the back of an envelope before he left us was a tune from a TV show that he enjoyed:

Every single step I take
Seems to go the other way
From the one that I'd intended
Thought this lunacy had ended
And the seasons never change
They just always stay the same
Like a band with just a drummer
I'm in never-ending summer

Celebrate his never-ending summer when you think of him. He is missed.

If desired contributions may be made in Scott's name to: Second Chance SPCA. 972.424.0077