Obituaries
Laura Sue (Shaver) Anderson was born October 10, 1949, in Santa Monica, California. Laura was abandoned by her birth parents. Her adoptive mother, Inez Shaver, caught word of 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!”
Unknown at the time, Laura was born without a right hip socket and had bilateral club feet. Her tongue was also attached to the roof of her mouth. Laura's mom would often joke that the decision to have it detached was regrettable, saying, “She started talking and hasn't stopped yet.” Laura was able to have most, but not all of her disabilities treated at Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Los Angeles. (She detested the word crippled.) Laura endured at least 40 orthopedic surgeries while at Shriners. She would sometimes spend several consecutive months at the hospital, including a 16-month stint through her 16th birthday. She also suffered through four total hip surgeries, three of which were performed in Montana. Unsurprisingly, Laura was a major supporter of Shriner’s Hospital.
Laura graduated from Widney High School in Los Angeles in 1967. She 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 and married John H. Lander, who adopted Tony as his son. Laura later divorced John in 1974. Five years later, In 1979, Laura married E. Johann Anderson in Huntington Beach. They eventually moved to Livingston in 1985. Times were tough then, as BNSF railroad had pulled out of Livingston, leaving many workers unemployed. Johann was fortunate enough to find seasonal work in Yellowstone National Park. Two years later, he got on permanent subject to furlough. One year later, he received permanent status working for the fire department in the park. In 2010, Johann retired from the Park. He and Laura 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. The tumor was removed but left Laura unable to walk, which frustrated her after fighting so hard to overcome her disabilities.
Laura is survived by her husband of 46 years, Johann; grandchildren, Andrew and Anthony Lander; brother, Alvin (Britt) Shaver; younger sister, Virginia (Ginny); and her nephew, Chris. She was preceded in death by her parents, Inez and Clyde Shaver; brother, Clyde; and son, Tony.
A memorial service will be held on October 17th at 11 am at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home.
Laura request that any donations be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children.