Craig Randall Andersen's Obituary
Craig Randall “Randy” Andersen, age 77, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, passed away Wednesday, July 30, 2025. He was born on October 4,1947, in Chicago, Illinois. Craig was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer Lloyd Andersen, Lois Grace Sherman Andersen Eiesland, his sister Anita Jean “Jeannie” and brother, Scott “Scottie,” and his son, Matthew Andersen.
Survivors are his wife, Pamela Jo Andersen; his daughters, Erin Wilson (John), Emily Bridges (Buckley); his brother, Gary Andersen (Johanna); sister, Jodi Eiesland (Nigel); four grandchildren, Melissa, Emmaryn, Margaret, and Mary Katherine; and countless beloved extended family.
Craig “Randy” was born in Chicago and spent his early life there, his father working as a chemist for a chocolate company. In 1956, after the sudden and untimely death of his father, he moved with his mother and siblings to South Dakota to be closer to their extended family. This extended family, especially his uncle Adolf “Andy” and Aunt Willetta “Billie” Andersen and his cousins, were very involved in his formative years. He was always grateful for their care and presence in his life and cherished the time spent with them on their farm in Astoria.
Randy’s mother, Lois, settled in Sioux Falls where she worked as a financial secretary for many years until she retired. Randy always admired his mother’s strength and dedication to her children.
Randy attended Washington High School in Sioux Falls, graduating in 1965. During his high school years, he was involved in German, Science, Math, and Boy’s State and worked as a cook at the Minnehaha Country Club. He enjoyed school, cooking, and science, and those interests stayed with him for the rest of his life.
After high school, Randy attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls, graduating with a B.A. in Biology in 1969. While at Augustana, he met Pam, who was also from Sioux Falls. He was immediately smitten. After she went on an adventure to Europe during the summer of 1969, they both decided they wanted to get married. Randy saved every one of the 30-plus letters and postcards Pam wrote to him while she was away. They were obviously head-over-heels in love and Pam and Randy married on October 18, 1969.
Randy continued his studies at the University of Minnesota, where his research focused on apples. He graduated in 1977 with a M.S. in Horticulture and with a Ph.D. in Horticulture in 1981. He was actually in the apple fields when he got a call that Pam was in labor with their first daughter, Erin, in 1976. They were delighted to be parents, and happy to be living in Minneapolis near Pam’s sister Nancy and her husband Peter, who had also recently had their first child.
An assistant professor position with Texas A&M and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service took them to College Station, Texas where Randy specialized in vegetables and his research focused on onions.
While in College Station, Pam and Randy had a son, Matthew, in 1980, and another daughter, Emily, in 1983. While they were sad to be so far away from their family, they made wonderful life-long friends in Texas. They enjoyed neighborhood walks, backyard cookouts, pool time, soccer, and lots of time exploring nature with their children.
In 1985, Randy was offered a position in Fayetteville with the University of Arkansas and University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Pam was skeptical of the move at first, but Randy assured her that Fayetteville was a nice place “like the midwest.” It was still far from their families, but it was closer than Texas, so she was convinced and off they went to Arkansas. Fayetteville turned out to be a place they loved and they lived in the same house for the next 40ish years.
Known as “Craig” in his professional life, he loved his work as an Associate Professor in Horticulture with the University and as a horticulturist, specializing in commercial vegetable production, with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. He had state-wide responsibility for commercial vegetable production and was also integral in the development of the Arkansas Master Gardener Program.
He loved teaching horticulture and traveling the state helping growers with their vegetable crops. His book, Vegetable Gardening in Arkansas, was published in 1998. He also wrote numerous guides on various vegetable crops published by the Extension Service. Over the years, he visited every county in the state multiple times and met many wonderful people. He provided countless educational programs on a variety of vegetable topics and also provided support to farmers’ markets around the state. He also enjoyed judging the 4-H Giant Pumpkin and Giant Watermelon Contests at the Arkansas State Fair every year. In 2014, he retired from the University of Arkansas and was granted the honor of Professor Emeritus.
Randy was a great dad, husband, and friend. He loved cooking and gathering with his family and friends. Every summer he made as much pesto as he could and shared it with everyone. He was the person who packed the lunchboxes, and made the meals, making sure everyone was cared for and nourished. He was always there for all of the kids’ activities - soccer and other various sports, music recitals, band concerts, and dance recitals.
He enjoyed reading and learning about history, philosophy, and also enjoyed reading biographies, and historical fiction. He enjoyed photography and loved capturing memories of special places and times. He also loved exploring museums and all types of art.
He loved going on road-trips, spending time with his family and Pam’s family in Sioux Falls and the Black Hills of South Dakota, and visiting many National Parks in the Western U.S. His favorite vacations were spent with family and exploring nature, hiking, fishing, sitting on a porch on a cool morning in the mountains, and playing games, especially cribbage.
After they were both retired, Randy and Pam made autumn trips to South Dakota and the Black Hills, occasionally taking Pam’s mother, Arlene, along with them. They were also able to take a trip to Scotland to see Randy’s nephew graduate from college and enjoyed visiting with family and exploring the UK and Paris together. He was always grateful for the opportunities to spend time with his family and the wonderful extended family he gained when he married Pam.
He adored each one of their grandchildren and loved every moment he got to spend with them. Hosting Erin and John around the time their babies were born, so they could be closer to the hospital, saying “yes” to every babysitting request, watching hours of PBS Kids, playing any kind of make-believe game, setting up science experiments, volunteering at school, attending concerts, plays, recitals, and celebrating every milestone and achievement were the joys of being a grandpa.
Randy was endlessly devoted to his family and supportive throughout all parts of life. When Erin had to go back on dialysis, he went with her to every session (3 times a week) to keep her company. Then, years later, he trained to be Erin’s backup companion when she was on home dialysis while waiting for a kidney transplant.
He was an active member of First United Presbyterian Church, serving in various roles throughout the years. He cherished the friendships he made there. He also loved being a part of the UCM book club with several friends, meeting on Zoom during Covid and continuing on Zoom when he didn’t want to leave Pam at home alone.
Randy took on the role of “caretaker” after Pam was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease seven years ago. Three years ago, after he was hospitalized with an illness, they added a caretaker who became a friend, so they could stay at home as long as they could. Then last year, he moved with Pam to a memory care facility when it was clear that they needed more help. He was committed to protecting Pam and advocating for her. They were married for 55 years.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 24, at 1:30 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Appleseeds, Inc., 2648 N Old Wire Rd, Fayetteville, AR 72703 or online at https://appleseedsnwa.org/donate
Donors should list "in memory of" Craig Andersen in the memo line in their check or the comment box on the online form. Learn more about Appleseeds at https://appleseedsnwa.org/our-mission
Cremation arrangements are by Nelson Berna Funeral Home of Fayetteville.
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