Huntington Town's Joseph Anderson dies

Joseph Gawthrop Anderson, Huntington Town's first recreation supervisor, loved sports.

Whether he was watching, playing, or coaching them, they always had some place in his life, his son, Dennis Anderson, said.

"He played as a kid in the ballfields of West Virginia, and then he played all through junior high and high school, then he played in the Navy, then he was teaching and coaching," Anderson said Tuesday. "His life revolved around athletics and recreation, and making things better for kids."

Anderson, who was appointed the town's first recreation superintendent in the late 1950s, died May 27 at his Huntington Station home from coronary artery disease. He was 89.

During his tenure with the town, the Dix Hills pool and golf course and the Crab Meadow golf course opened.

Anderson also helped in 1965 to found The Huntington Thunderers, a group of musicians and baton twirlers that performed at sporting events, parades and competitions around the world, including the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Rose Bowl Parade and Bastille Day festivities in France.

Born Oct. 29, 1921, in Buckhannon, W.Va., Anderson was an All-State athlete at Upshur High School in Buckhannon.

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He joined the Navy in 1942 and served as a pharmacist's mate aboard the destroyer escort USS Gunason.

"He used to tell me when the guns went off that he found the best hiding place," Dennis said. "He was a character."

It was after Anderson was honorably discharged in November 1945 that he finally came to New York. He enrolled at New York University and graduated with a bachelor's in physical education in 1953. While there, he met his wife, Marie, and argued over the Yankees and Dodgers.

Anderson and his wife divorced in 1962.

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He was still an undergraduate student when he served as a facilities director at the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA.

After graduating, he became a physical education teacher in Uniondale and then moved onto the South Huntington School District. Along with his wife, he taught at Silas Wood, Oakwood, Maplewood, Birchwood, Pigeon Hill and Beverly elementary schools.

Besides his son, Anderson is survived by his older brother Jackson of Kentucky. His remains have been consigned for cremation at the A.L. Jacobsen Funeral Home in Huntington Station and a private service for immediate family will be held. He will be interred at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.