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Mr. Eddie Lee Anderson entered the world on October 1, 1947, as the youngest son to James and Marie Anderson. He departed this earthly journey for eternal rest on the morning of Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Eddie committed his life to Christ at a very young age and was a member of Goodwill Baptist Church in Eastover, South Carolina.
He graduated from Webber High School, Class of 1965, where he was a jokester and learned the trade of Brick Masonry under the direction of Mr. Abercrombie and later in life he created his own business, Anderson Masonry. As a young man, Eddie loved spending time with his sister, brothers, cousins, and neighborhood friends, drag racing his Chevelle, riding his motorcycle, hunting, and fishing and playing baseball in the community at Crossroads or the Sandhills with the Crossroads Baseball team.
Eddie served honorably in the United States Army as an 11C4P (Indirect Fire Infantryman) from November 10, 1967, to June 6, 1969. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and during his time in Vietnam, he met several young men, whom he became lifelong friends with, and he considered them as his brothers. His awards and decorations are Bronze Star, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Parachute Badge. Eddie was extremely proud of his military service and had a collection of shirts and caps. He had a special shirt that said GRANDPA*THE VETERAN*THE MYTH*THE LEGEND.
After returning home from the Army, Eddie married the love of his life, Alice Ann, on October 27, 1969. You would often find Eddie & Alice sitting on the front porch, in the yard cutting grass and planting flowers, watching their favorite shows on television, shopping in Sam’s, Walmart, Food Lion or Eddie’s favorite store, Dollar General. Eddie decided that he wanted to attend college and took classes at Allen University for a few years and would proudly boast about how he made all A’s in college however, it was his wife, Alice Ann that did all of his homework and typed all of his papers! He knew being a Brick Mason was what he wanted to do in life, so be began working with other Brick Masons in the neighborhood to gain more knowledge of the trade and became a professional licensed Brick Mason.
At the age of 25, with the help of those same neighborhood Brick Masons, Eddie built his very own house as well as a store called Anderson Party Town which was located on Hwy 76, Sumter Highway and the block building is still there today under new ownership. Under his business Anderson Masonry, Eddie worked on many projects building homes and doing brick work on churches around South Carolina and in the Columbia area especially in the well know Vista area in Columbia. He worked with several companies such as America’s Home Place, Arnold Construction, Canadian Log Homes, Fran, Inc., Orion Construction Co, Inc., Palace Builders, LLC, and Patrick Construction.
Eddie was a funny guy and at the family cookouts he kept everyone laughing and he loved telling stories from back in the day and the jokes he played on people. He was well known in the family for his BBQ and hash, catfish stew, homemade vegetable/beef stew, pound cake made from scratch and so much more. If he was not out getting his truck cleaned, working in the yard, or doing special projects around the house, Eddie was out visiting family and friends on Cate Road and around the Eastover and Sandhills community. When you heard a truck pull up in your yard with loud pipes and a horn blow, you knew it was Eddie visiting as he yelled and waved for you to come outside and talk to him.
Eddie was a one-of-a-kind man and would tell you exactly how he felt and what he thought even if you didn’t ask him. When anyone came to visit, he would be sitting in his favorite chair and behind the chair he had a plaque on the wall that said Dad’s Rule, 1.) Dad’s always right and 2.) If Dad is wrong, refer to rule #1. He was a father to many and would do anything he could for you, but you would have to hear him talk trash. His wife, siblings, children, grand/great-grandchildren, and extended family and friends meant the world to him. And his family knew there was nothing their husband, father and grandfather could not do. Eddie and Alice raised three daughters and one son and there was no such thing as girls inside and boys outside. All the children were in the yard cutting grass, cleaning fish, getting the Pit ready to cook a Hog or on the job site loading bricks in the wheelbarrow, lifting mortar bags, reading the level and mixing mortar. Eddie and Alice laid the foundation of life with work ethic and many life lessons that will be cherished and carried throughout the rest of their children’s lives. Every morning, Eddie would read his favorite poem and pray for his family at his special prayer space in the living room that has pictures of his entire family.
Eddie was preceded in death by his parents, James and Marie McLemore Anderson; two brothers, James (Ulice) and Major Anderson; one sister, Irene (Carl) Grooms; son, Eddie Albert Anderson; father and mother-in-law, Boston and Gertrude Hipps and brothers-in-law, Kenneth Hipps and Fate Goodwin.
Eddie leaves a family that will continue his legacy and cherish precious memories, his loving and devoted wife of fifty-one years, Alice Anderson; children, Sandra Williams, Vonda (John) Howell, Myra (Jarvis) Adams and Kawana Anderson; brother, Freddie L Anderson; beloved grandchildren, Brianna, Bryson, J’Varis, Justin, Jada, Monique (Dillon), Jamaul, Danesha, Shacoria, Jordan, Jawanna, Eyana; beloved great-grandchildren, Julianna, Dillon Jr, Zyaire, Kayden and Sage; Godson, Devon Goodwin; brothers and sisters-in-law, Eartha Goodwin, Pete (Paulette) Hipps, Mary (Charles) Jones, Deloris Hipps, Geraldine Hipps, Jessie (Elaine) Hipps, Richard (Kindel) Hipps; special sister/neighbor Evelyn (Patrick) Jones and a host of loving family and friends whom he held near and dear to his heart that will all miss him.
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