In Remembrance

David Manfred Anderson – 69 y/o of Duluth, MN passed away peacefully on June 30, 2023 after a 6-month battle with Cancer.

Dave (aka Manfred) was born January 22, 1954, to Elmer Manfred Anderson and Linnea Marie (Ecklund) Anderson in Duluth, MN.

Dave was raised in Duluth (Lakeside) until he was 13 years old. His family then moved to Eveleth, MN where he graduated from Eveleth HS “The Golden Bears”– in 1972. He went on to earn a BS in Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in 1976. It was there he met lifelong friends. It was these friends that became family. Over the course of 50 years his “Clan” of friends from St. Paul and Rochester met multiple times per year. In their early days his core group of friends climbed mountains. The friends enjoyed trips to the Boundary Waters, XC Skiing in Brainerd, hiking up the North Shore, annual New Years Eve parties in Rochester and Summer Cabin weekends in Wisconsin with all the Kids. Of course, there were many other times they got together to “raise a glass” in celebration of something.

Dave joined his brother Steve at Medical Graphics Corporation in St. Paul and worked for 25 years as a Senior Software Engineer. Dave made significant contributions to the development of advanced cardio-pulmonary diagnostic systems utilized by over 5000 teaching hospitals throughout the world. He was issued 4 Patents for innovations in medical software.

He married Michelle (Shelly) Bowes in 1992 and they had 2 sons, Alex and Elliot. They moved to Duluth in 2003 to help take care of his mother, Linnea. Dave was blessed to have had the time to spend with his mother in her last 2 years. Dave, Alex, Elliot, and Andy Dog were quite the team hiking all over the Congdon Park area when the boys were young. He loved gardening and propagating house plants (he had an incredible Green Thumb!!). He was active and enjoyed the outdoors with long walks, XC, Downhill and Water Skiing. Many summers were spent boating, fishing, and water skiing at the “Bowes” Cabin in Wisconsin. Some of Dave’s most favorite times were at his Family’s “Factor Lake” cabin in Canada. First spending time up there with his Dad, Mom, and brother, then his friends and his boys with their uncles and cousins. He had a soft spot for the Walleyes and many laughs were had regarding his “catch and release” tactics.

Dave’s true passion was READING. He had an incredible wealth of knowledge in many subjects and didn’t mind sharing that with friends. He was known for his goofy and mischievous sense of humor. A favorite move of his was singing obscure oldies songs, whether he was asked to or not.

In 2012 he moved back to St. Paul to work for Shape Medical – again with his brother Steve. He continued to work there until Nov 2022, retiring due to his cancer diagnosis. In the summer of 2022, he attended his 50-year HS reunion and was thrilled to reconnect with his old Eveleth classmates. In Jan 2023 Dave moved back to Duluth to be where his family could help take care of him. He and his boys were able to spend some very precious time together as Dave was doing well with his Chemo Infusions. They were able to attend the Symphony multiple times this past winter. The boys visited him almost daily at his new Apartment where they enjoyed the Sauna (one of Dave’s favorite things to do), sitting in the hot tub and shooting pool in the game room. They often went on long walks together and in fact were hiking in Chester Park together on Mother’s Day – just 3 days before he landed in the hospital with sepsis.

Dave will be greatly missed by his family and friends. We are so thankful for his life and love. He had a way of making everyone smile.

Dave is preceded in death by his father Elmer Anderson and mother Linnea Anderson.

He is survived by his sons Alexander Anderson and Elliot Anderson, his ex-wife Michelle Anderson, his brother Stephen (Kye) Anderson, Niece Amy (Michael) Betty, Nephew Carver (Alexis) Anderson, cousins Janet Seigel, Gene Nickstad, Lana Rizzutto, Jim Portz, Tom Portz, Sandy Bergquist.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (1325 N 45^th Ave E, Duluth, MN 55804) on August 2, 2023, at 1 pm. Hospitality gathering to follow immediately after the service. Bring your Manfred stories to share.

In lieu of flowers, Dave’s Family requests Donations to the American Cancer Society.