Orlen Anderson Obituary

I received word today from Eileen Misfeldt that Orlen Anderson had passed. He and his wife Shirley lived in Magnolia Park for several years. I do appreciate that Eileen keeps me informed with information like this and it gives us a chance to chat a bit. She and LeRoy are doing fine and I enjoyed chatting with her. We talked about the "good old days" and agreed there will never be anything quite like what we had at Magnolia.! They do miss going south and I told her we do like our park Trails End a lot, of course that could be because so many of our Magnolia neighbors are also there!

Orlen Anderson, 92, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at his home at Prince of Peace Assisted Living.  Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 22, 2025, at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory in Sioux Falls.  Interment will follow at Hills of Rest Cemetery in Sioux Falls.  Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 21, 2025, also at the funeral home.  

 Orlen was born in Madison, SD to William and Laura (Grove) Anderson on October 31, 1932.  He grew up on the family farm by Howard, SD.  Orlen graduated from Howard High School and worked on the farm for two years.

 On February 10, 1952, Orlen was united in marriage to Carol Ann Nelson at Oldham Lutheran Church in Oldham, SD.  They lived in Madison prior to moving to Sioux Falls where he worked at a commission firm for eight years.  Orlen then worked at the United States Postal Service for 32 years.  Orlen and his wife, Carol Ann were members of the Moose Lodge for 18 years.  On June 13, 1995, Carol Ann passed away.

 On October 23, 1998, Orlen was united in marriage to Shirley Tirrel at Ben Clare United Methodist Church in rural Valley Springs. Orlen and Shirley wintered in Donna, TX for 15 years.  Shirley passed away on May 28, 2018.

Orlen had the remarkable ability to remember dates and years of birthdays and anniversaries of all of his relatives as well as family friends.  He loved to share stories of his childhood on the family farm and how he lived with a married couple in Howard in order to attend high school.  Orlen was very proud of his Norwegian heritage and always looked forward to eating lutefisk and lefsa.

 Left to share his memories are his sons, Donald (Jean) Anderson and Richard (Debbie) Anderson; his daughter, Laurie (Scott) Timmer. Orlen was blessed with ten grandchildren, Rebecca (Tim) Petersen, Daniel Anderson, Heidi Galer, Michaela Anderson, Lucas (Alexis) Anderson, Elizabeth (Dave) Furlong, Benjamin (Jill) Anderson, Joseph (Amanda) Timmer, Kristina (David) Foster, and Andrew (Audrianne) Timmer as well as nineteen great-grandchildren.

 Orlen was preceded in death by his wives, Carol Ann and Shirley; son, Robert Anderson; parents, William and Laura Anderson; brother, Harvey Anderson; sisters-in-law, Lenora Anderson, Laurel Jensen, and Loretta Nelson; brothers-in-law, Orville Jensen, Verlynn Nelson, and Glen Pearson; nephews, Michael Nelson and Wayne Anderson; daughter-in-law, Pam Anderson; and grandson-in-law, Matt Galer.