Neal Robert Anderson

Former Thompson Falls resident, Neal Robert Anderson, 82, of Missoula, Montana passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at home surrounded by family.

He was born on January 2, 1944 in Los Angeles, California to Ned and Ruth Johnson Anderson.   He grew up in Oak, Nebraska with his two brothers. Neal loved playing sports, but his favorite was softball which he enjoyed playing until age promoted him to coach.

 Neal attended Oak Elementary School and Nelson High School.  He went on to graduate from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

On August 14, 1964 he married his high school sweetheart, Sandra Good, in Lincoln, Nebraska.  They had two daughters, Shari (Scott) Montgomery, and Shannon (Lance) Pavlik.

After his graduation, they moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where Neal started his thirty-seven-year career at Motorola (later General Dynamics) in the Government Electronics Division.  He was able to spearhead and develop many projects that were critical to our national defense.  His final project, before retirement, was Rescue 21, a distress and response system for the US Coast Guard.

Neal was active in his church, IEEE, and enjoyed playing on local softball, handball, racquetball, and golf teams.  Neal designed and constructed many home projects for his family with carpentry skills learned from his father. He loved Jesus and his family well.  He especially enjoyed time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  They held table tennis competitions, explored museums and National Parks, read books, built snowmen and worked on projects involving engineering and construction.

Neal is survived by Sandy, his wife of sixty-one years, his two daughters and sons-in-law, six grandchildren, Chirstopher (Kerri), Anthony, Trenton, Emma (Connor), Tyler, and Trey, and four great grandchildren, Savannah, Sawyer, Nora, Bonnie; his two brothers, Dexter (Carol) and Alvin Anderson; two sisters-in-law, Barbra (Howard) Hansen and Kathleen (Chuck) Hubka, and many nieces and nephews as well as his lifelong buddy, Phil Sykes. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister-in-law, Nina Anderson, and nephew, Mitchell Hansen.

There will be a celebration of life this summer.  Memorials may be directed to the Leukemia Society or local food banks.