Laura Sue Anderson

Laura Sue (Shaver) Anderson, 76 years old, was born October 10, 1949 in Santa Monica, Ca. Laura was abandoned by her birth parents. Laura's mom, Inez Shaver heard about the abandoned baby and went to the hospital. When she arrived home she declared to her husband, Clyde, "Guess what honey, It's a Girl!". It was unknown at the time that Laura was born without a right hip socket, had bilateral club feet and her tongue was attached to the roof of her mouth. Laura's mom would often joke that the decision to have it detached was not a good one, once detached, "she started talking and she hasn't stopped yet." As a result of her numerous disabilities Laura was able to have most of them but not all taken care of at Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Los Angeles, Ca. (Laura detested the word crippled). Laura endured at least 40+ orthopedic surgeries while at Shriners. She would spend months at a time in the hospital, one time spending 16 months in the wards until her 16th birthday. As you can guess, Laura was a major Shriner Fan. Laura had suffered through 4 total hip surgeries, three of which she had performed in Montana.

Laura graduated from Widney High School in Los Angeles in 1967. Laura then married Daniel Gideon in 1968 from which came her only child, Anthony (Tony) Gordon Gideon, who was born on June 26, 1969. Laura divorced Daniel in 1969. Laura then married John H. Lander, who adopted Tony as his son. Laura divorced John Lander in 1974. In 1979, Laura married E. Johann Anderson in Huntington Beach, Ca. Laura and Johann moved to Livingston in 1985. Times were pretty lean in Livingston then as BNSF railroad pulled out of Livingston leaving a lot of unemployed workers. Johann was lucky enough to get a seasonal job in Yellowstone National Park. Two years later, Johann got on permanent subject to furlough, and a year after that Johann received permanent status working for the Fire Department in the Park. In 2010, Johann retired from the Park and Laura and he lived the life of Retirees.

In 2002, Laura was presented by then Governor Judy Martz as Big Sister of the year for Big Brothers and Sisters in Montana.

In 2019, Laura developed a brain tumor which was removed leaving Laura unable to walk which frustrated Laura to no end after fighting so hard to overcome her disabilities.

Laura is survived by her husband of 46 years, Johann, 2 grandchildren, Andrew and Anthony Lander, both 24 years of age. She is also survived by an older brother, Alvin (Britt) Shaver, and a younger sister, Virginia, (Ginny) and her son Chris. Laura was preceded in death by her parents, Inez and Clyde Shaver, and a younger brother, Clyde, and son, Tony Lander.

Laura wanted any donations to be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children. A memorial service will be held this spring after it warms up.