Martha Anderson…October 20, 1927 – March 12, 2016

A memorial service for longtime Las Animas, Colorado, resident Martha Anderson will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 19, 2016, at the First United Methodist Church in Las Animas with Pastor Mark Cloer officiating.  Inurnment will take place at a later date.

Martha Darlene (Bishop) Anderson was born on October 20, 1927, in Greene County, Iowa, to William H. and Marie Jane (Bradley) Bishop. She passed away with family by her side on March 12, 2016, at her home in Las Animas at 88.

Martha married Gerald V. Anderson on June 9, 1951.  Born to this union were two children, Larry and Susan.  Martha moved to Las Animas in 1957 and then returned to Iowa in 1959, where she lived for another two years before returning permanently to Las Animas in 1961.  She worked as a store clerk in Ben Franklin Dime Store, Eisenhower’s Clothing Store, and Thaxton’s Market. She was well known for her green thumb and often would be found outside tending to her beautiful flowers.  Martha loved people and her “coffee time.”  She enjoyed volunteering at Bent County Healthcare Center for many years.  Martha was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Las Animas.

Martha is survived by son Larry Anderson and wife Michele of Las Animas; daughter Susan Porter and husband, Jerry, of Phoenix, Arizona; grandson Matthew Porter and wife, Sarah, also of Phoenix; step-grandchildren Kiel Heerding of Las Animas and Marie Steinmetz of Pendleton, Oregon; step-great-grandchildren Beth Steinmentz and Dominic Steinmetz of Pendleton, Oregon, and Storey Miller of Phoenix; a great granddaughter, Reagan Porter, who is to be born in April 2016, in Phoenix; sisters Beverly Boorne of Iowa and Shirley Homovich of Michigan; and many other relatives plus a host of friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Marie Jane Bishop; husband Gerald Anderson; two brothers, Jack Bishop and Paul “Bud” Bishop; and two sisters, Berniece Meyer and Vivian Otten.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the First United Methodist Church in Las Animas in care of Horber Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 431, Las Animas, Colorado 81054.

For more information or to leave online condolences please visit www.horberfuneralchapel.com.