Thomas Harry Anderson

Thomas Harry Anderson, husband of Columbia native, Josephine Elizabeth (Jo Beth) Folger passed away on March 2, 2023 in Los Altos, California. Tom was born on September 27, 1947 in San Francisco, California, the son of the late Warren Albert Anderson and Ruth Shirley Townsend Anderson. He grew up in San Rafael, California and was a 1965 graduate of Terra Linda High School. Following two years of service with the U. S. Army, Third Armored Division in Europe, Tom returned to San Francisco and graduated from San Francisco State University in 1972, with a degree in communications. He moved to the Lake Tahoe area where his family had a vacation home, and began a long, varied and productive career at the ski resort then known as Squaw Valley USA. Tom started out in the Lift Maintenance department, but his knowledge of the mountain and level-headedness led to positions of increasing responsibility, including Mountain Manager, overseeing daily operations and maintenance of the resort. Eventually he took on responsibility for project permitting and liaison with the many County, State and Federal agencies exercising oversight and regulatory authority. Over the years, Tom patiently built relationships with the agencies and was respected by their staff members as someone who was truthful and trustworthy. He retired in 1999 as Director of Operations and a member of the Board of Directors of the company. In 1995, Tom married Jo Beth Folger, with whom he had two sons, James Thomas Folger Anderson and Townsend Ladd Folger Anderson. In 1999, the family relocated back to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Tom enjoyed a decade-long second career in environmental regulatory compliance at NASA Ames Research Center. He was a member of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and was active with his sons’ Boy Scout and Little League activities. In addition to his wife and sons, Tom is survived by his brother, Stephen Warren (Maureen) Anderson, sisters Sally Anderson Manley and Marjorie Anderson (Chris) Hill, sister-in-law Lora Ladd Folger, nieces Kati Bell, Jessica (Shawn) Beeler, April (Bob) Boyde, Michelle (Jordan) Brooks, and nephews Leif (Gina) Anderson and Andrew (Lindsay) Hill, and nine great-nieces and nephews. A graveside service for Tom will be held Saturday at 11:00 A.M. at Williamsport Cemetery with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements and condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com.