Vernon Anderson

Vernon Anderson, 71, of Glasgow, Mont., died of cancer in Billings on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

There will be a memorial service Friday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m., at Bell Mortuary in Glasgow, followed by a reception at the Oasis.

He was born Jan. 18, 1943, in Great Falls, the second of five sons born to Chester and Anne (Simpson) Anderson of Glasgow. He graduated from Glasgow High School in 1960, then attended college in Bozeman with a degree in engineering. He moved to Ridgecrest, Calif., where he was employed by the Naval Weapons Center and helped design various aircraft missiles, including the AMRAAM and Sidewinder.

His main hobbies were science fiction books and pool playing.

He was preceded in death by son Daniel Anderson; his parents; and brothers Paul, Vance and Dale.

Survivors include two sons and a daughter from ex-wife Gwendolyn (Hopstad) Anderson. They are Joseph Anderson and his wife, Pamela, of Billings, David Anderson and Cynthia Windsor of Klamath Falls, Ore., and Gwen Marie Anderson of Billings; grandchildren, Elizabeth Moore and her husband, Kris, and her two children, Madison and Colton; and Samantha Boyer and her husband, Ryan, and her daughter, Alexis; grandsons, Ethan, Luke and Aaron Anderson; two brothers, Gary Anderson and his wife, Alice, of Appleton, Wis., and Michael and his wife, Susan, of Watertown, Wis .; three daughters, Kathleen Reed and her husband, Neal, of Fredericsburg, Va., Emily Miller and her husband, Dave, of Arvada, Colo., and Amy and Dennis DeBay of Lafayette, Co .; Uncle Anthony Anderson and his wife, Delores, of Yuma, Ariz., Aunt Laverna Moore of Portland, Ore .; and cousins include Daisy Watson of Laurel, Ted Simpson of Helena, and Bruce Simpson of Ronan.

Bell Mortuary of Glasgow is in charge of arrangements.