James (Jim) Frederick Anderson, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and local businessman, died on Monday, January 1, 2025, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was 90 years old.

"I think he would have liked that he died on New Year's Day," said his granddaughter Nellie Anderson-Wright, noting that Jim was born (also in Grand Rapids) on April 1, which served as both Easter and April Fool's Day in the year of his birth: 1934.

He was the eldest child of William and Ellen May (Cross) Anderson. His sister, Mary, predeceased him.

Jim married his high school sweetheart, Betty Lou Larson, in 1954, and they lived in the same home at 3333 Newcastle Dr., for nearly 70 years. They had three children—Michael, Sharon, and Susan—and eight grandchildren: Christy, Chelsie, Neeltje (Nellie), John, Andrea, Tarra, Valerie and Bradley. All of them called him "Gramps," and he called every one of them "Kiddo."

He and Betty babysat often for their grandkids and attended many of their sporting and school events. They hosted New Year's Eve sleepovers and summer camping trips for them and celebrated their birthdays on the big, backyard deck at Newcastle. Jim liked to fire up the blender and serve everyone thick chocolate malts in oversized cups.

Over time,14 great-grandchildren joined the family: Bradley Jr., Hailey, Kylie, Eleanor, Samuel, Aiden, Madeleine, Isabel, Paisley, Elizabeth, Rick (R.J.), Valerie Jade and James. Jim and Betty enjoyed spending time with them too.

Jim called his family "the joy of his life."

He was a tool and die maker by trade, beginning his apprenticeship fresh out of high school and working for various local shops. Jim founded AnderMel Die & Mold with partner Larry Melcher in 1969. When he retired in 1995, he had spent 45 years as a toolmaker.

Upon retirement, Jim set up a small woodworking shop in his basement and spent many hours crafting high-end furniture. He made beautiful tables, bookcases, doll cradles, rocking horses and other pieces as gifts for his children and grandchildren and built custom furniture into more than one of their houses. He also carved and painted many bird species: wood ducks, woodcocks, goldfinches, partridges and one spectacular blue heron.

When not carving birds, Jim was searching for them. He outfitted a van with sleeping bunks, and he and Betty went birdwatching throughout North America and all over Canada, adding 275,000 miles on the van and 600 birds to their life lists.

Another post-retirement interest was family history. Through his research, Jim discovered that he was related to the first settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, to the Boynton brothers who founded Byron Center, Michigan, and to Shubael Cross, who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Throughout his life, Jim was an avid hunter, stalking deer in the western Upper Peninsula; elk in Colorado, Idaho and British Columbia; antelope in Wyoming; and caribou in Northern Quebec.

Jim died at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is survived by his children and their spouses (Myrna Anderson and Terry Broekema), by his grandchildren and their spouses (Cliff Stricklen, Ashlyn Newhof, Luke Wright, Eric Moulton, John (Jay) Horan, and Tim Stevens) and by his great-grandchildren.

The family is holding both visitation at 10 a.m. and a memorial service for Jim at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 9, 2025, at Ofield Funeral Home, 4500 Kalamazoo Ave., SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., 49508.