Dorothy Fisher Anderson
May 31, 1924-March 28, 2025
Stanford, California, USA
Dorothy Fisher Anderson was born Dorothy Anker on May 31, 1924 in Funchal, Madeira to Edna Gilbert Anker and Lewis Mann Anker. Her father worked overseas in the textile industry when “Dolly” was born, but soon after, the family returned to Albany, NY where he died of scarlet fever when she was 9 months old. Dorothy, her older sister Marion, and their mother moved to Manhattan in the late 1920s where Edna worked as a dental hygienist, using public day care for her daughters. Edna then met and married David Henry Fisher. In 1932, Charles David Fisher was born, in 1933 Dolly was adopted by her mother’s new husband, and the new family moved to the borough of Queens.
Dorothy was raised in the Jewish faith, attended the reformed Free Synagogue where she learned from the Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, who was a prophetic Zionist predicting the Nazi holocaust of Jews. Dorothy’s Depression Era upbringing was also notable for summertime playing at the beach on Coney Island and visiting relatives in up state NY. Her childhood experiences, both good and bad, led to her valuing family above all else.
Dorothy attended Queens College, graduating in 1945 with a B.A in in Sociology-Anthropology. Although study of anthropology captured her heart and curiosity, she chose social work as her profession due to practical applicability and her desire to help improve lives of others. Dorothy received a scholarship from the National Council of Jewish Women enabling her to move to Chicago where she earned her M.A. at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago in 1947.
In 1946, she met the love of her life, Theodore W. Anderson, Jr (Ted); their romance lasted 70 years. They were married in NYC in July 1950 and had 3 children, Robert, Janet, and Jeanne. In 1968, they relocated from New York to California when Ted left Columbia University and became a professor of Statistics and Economics at Stanford University.
Dorothy led a full, adventurous, and exciting life.
Her early professional work as a licensed clinical social worker included working with struggling veterans returning from service in World War II and at-risk children in a public elementary school in an underserved area of the East Bronx. While living in New York City, she developed a strong personal and professional interest in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Dorothy spent 16 years from 1955 to 1971 as a full-time mother and homemaker, facilitating many moves due to her husband’s profession including 3 separate years abroad. She resumed clinical psychotherapy with children and adults from 1971 into the 1980’s in a variety of settings, including her home office where she conducted play therapy with children.
She travelled the world with a keen eye on art, architecture, anthropology, cuisine, and performing arts. She was both a sculptor and an avid “people watcher”, combining these interests into sculptures and drawings of the human form. She was a frequent presence on the tennis courts, playing on a tennis team into her 90’s. Her health and active lifestyle gave her the ability to enjoy time with family and their special events on both sides of the United States all the way to her 100th birthday. Dorothy enjoyed sketching and always travelled with a sketchbook, often drawing pictures of speakers at Ted’s conferences. She was always welcoming of friends, colleagues and family into her home, creating elegant dinner parties. Her love of opera, which began in the 1930s with her beloved Uncle E., continued to her last months of life with regular attendance at the San Francisco Opera and West Bay Opera.
On March 28, 2025, Dorothy died peacefully of natural causes in her home of 56 years on the Stanford Campus, with family at her bedside, 2 months short of her 101st birthday.
She is survived by her children Robert Lewis Anderson, Janet Anderson Yang (Thomas Yang), and Jeanne Elizabeth Anderson, her brother Charles David Fisher, 5 grandchildren Nathan, Kenton, Clara (David), Michael, Johnathon (Aimee), and many nieces and nephews.
