Robert H Anderson Jr

per Roanoke College website per http://roanoke.edu/x27248.xml

Robert Homer Anderson, Jr., was born in Strasburg, Virginia. He attended E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Augusta Military Academy, Fort Defiance, Virginia, before entering Roanoke College. He was involved in many campus activities including four years of football and was elected president of his freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes as well as president of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Anderson majored in Political Science and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942.

After graduation from Roanoke, Anderson entered the U.S. Navy where on June 6, 1944, his leadership qualities became quite evident. He was a Navy lieutenant junior grade and skipper of a 36-foot landing craft vehicle as well as being in charge over a number of other boats. His craft vehicle was loaded with twenty-eight troops taking part in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach. Ernest Hemingway, who was a war correspondent at the time, was in the craft with him. Hemingway wrote an article called "Voyage to Victory," published in Collier's magazine on June 22, 1944, in which he described Anderson as a hero. Hemingway was so impressed by Anderson's brave actions that he later recommended him for the Navy Cross. He would never have contact with the famous author again. Fifty years later, Anderson and his wife, Betty, returned to Normandy and Omaha Beach to pay their respects to those who fought and lost their lives there.

With his military duties completed, Anderson continued his education and received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1950. He continued his studies at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he majored in theology and church history. His education did not stop there. Anderson entered the University of Virginia School of Law where he received his juris doctorate degree in 1957.

Law would be Anderson's vocation. After working for the Norfolk City Attorney's office and the Commonwealth's Attorney's office, he became a partner in the Norfolk, Virginia, law firm of Goldblatt, Lipkin, Cohen and Anderson in 1969 and retired from there in 1990. He served on the Board of Governors for the Virginia State Bar and was a member of the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Anderson's family has a long legacy at Roanoke College. His father, R. Homer Anderson, D.D., graduated in 1910 and was a charter member of the Athletic Hall of Fame and a Trustee Emeritus. He served as Superintendent of the Lutheran Synod of Virginia for many years. His brother, W. Edward Anderson, M.D., graduated in 1950. An uncle and many cousins also graduated from Roanoke College.

Anderson is a member of First Lutheran Church in Norfolk where he served on the Church Council, taught Sunday school and has served as a congregational ambassador for Roanoke College. He is a member of the Honor Guard and holds the distinction of being the oldest active member of the Hampton Roads Alumni Chapter. He and his wife, Betty, live in Norfolk, Virginia. They have two children, Robert H. Anderson, III, an attorney in Richmond, Virginia, and E. Jane Anderson, an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota.

per Richmond Times Dispatch:

Robert Homer Anderson Jr. ANDERSON, Robert Homer Jr., 88, of Norfolk, passed away on April 16, 2009, at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He was born at the Lutheran parsonage in Strasburg, Virginia, on September 30, 1920, the son of the late Rev. R. Homer Anderson, D.D., and Helen Morrissette Anderson. He is survived by his wife, Betty; his son, Robert H. Anderson III and his wife, Esther Welch Anderson, of Richmond, Virginia; his daughter, Elizabeth Jane Anderson of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota; his granddaughter, Laura Elizabeth Anderson; his great-grandson, Connor Alexander Wilkerson of Richmond; and his brother, W. Edward Anderson, M.D., of Leesburg, Virginia. He is preceded in death by his sisters, Helen A. Ellsworth and Garnett A. Secrist. He will also be mourned by his nephew, H. Anderson Ellsworth; his niece, Helen Kay Garamone, their families, and other extended relatives, friends, clients, and colleagues. He attended E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Augusta Military Academy in Fort Defiance, Virginia, before entering Roanoke College, where he participated in many campus activities. In addition to his academic achievements, he excelled in sports, particularly football and track. He was elected President of his freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes, as well as President of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942, he entered the United States Navy, where he served with honor and distinction. On D-Day, as a Navy lieutenant and skipper of a 36-foot landing craft vehicle, he was responsible not only for several boats and the troops on them, but also for a special passenger, Ernest Hemingway, who was on the landing craft vehicle as a war correspondent covering the Normandy invasion. Hemingway's account of D-Day, "Voyage to Victory," was published in Collier's magazine on July22, 1944. Hemingway was so impressed by the young Lieutenant Anderson's brave acts on that historic day that he recommended him for the Navy Cross. At the end of the war, Robert returned to the United States, where he married his wife, Betty. They recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. In 1950, he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia, after which he continued his theological studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, graduating in 1957, and moved to Norfolk to begin his legal career. After working in the Norfolk City Attorney's Office, he went to the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney's Office, and then he became a partner in the Norfolk law firm of Goldblatt, Lipkin, Cohen, and Anderson. A member of the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar and American Bar Association, he also served on the Virginia State Bar Board of Governors. Robert was a longtime member of First Lutheran Church of Norfolk, where he taught Sunday School and was a member of the Church Council. A funeral service will be held on Monday, April 20, 2009, 11 a.m. at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Avenue, in Norfolk, by the Rev. Dr. William Trexler. The family will receive friends at H.D. Oliver Funeral Home, at 1501 Colonial Avenue, Norfolk, on Sunday, April 19, 2009, from 3 to 5 p.m. Interment will be at the Albert Horton Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Suffolk. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Lutheran Church or Roanoke College.

per The University of Virginia Magazine Fall of 2009:

Robert Homer Anderson Jr. (Law '57) of Norfolk, Va., died April 16, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. On D-Day, as a Navy lieutenant and skipper of a 36-foot landing craft vehicle, he was responsible not only for several boats and the troops on them but also for Ernest Hemingway, who was covering the landing as a war correspondent. After working in the Norfolk City Attorney's Office, Mr. Anderson worked for the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney's Office and then became a partner in the law firm of Goldblatt, Lipkin, Cohen & Anderson. He served on the Virginia State Bar's board of governors.