Layton Paul Anderson

Layton Paul Anderson died on April 13, 2020 at the age of 95, at a hospital near his home in Penney Farms, Florida. Born to Mildred and Harold Anderson on October 18, 1924 in Salamanca, New York, Layton was the third of five children. He is survived by his loving wife Viola; his brother Gaylord; his sons Randall (Judy), Daniel (Joan), Gregory (Noemie), and Edward (Diane); eleven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Layton grew up in Pennsylvania and New York. He was in high school in Buffalo, NY, working in the Curtis Wright aircraft factory part-time, when he was drafted in 1943. Layton served in the Army in the South Pacific and in the occupation forces in Japan. His job in Japan was to inspect railroad travel. For his 80^th birthday, he and his wife, Vi, returned to his duty station in Zushi, Japan to see how time, and peace, had changed it.

When discharged, Layton finished high school and, with the help of the GI Bill, enrolled in Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The school was recommended to him by his hometown pastor who was an alumnus. At Simpson, Layton also pursued the ministry and served as pastor to two small churches nearby. He met Viola Brown, his future wife of 70 years, during Freshman Days. They married three years later, on August 14, 1949, and lived in GI housing on campus for the remainder of their school days.

Upon graduation from Simpson, Layton enrolled in seminary at Drake in Des Moines and continued to serve local churches. He left seminary prematurely, and his career shifted focus. Starting with his own furniture and appliance store in Martensdale, Layton went through a string of jobs in furniture sales over the next decade that took him to other parts of Iowa, Washington, DC, and ultimately New Jersey. By the time the couple left Iowa, they had four sons in tow. Notably, while in Washington, DC, he sold carpet to cover the halls of Congress.

In 1965, while living in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Layton felt called back to the ministry and he enrolled at Drew University. He spent the middle year of seminary studying at New College in Edinburgh, which was a grand adventure for the whole family. Together they faced the challenges posed by managing four boys in a foreign school system and enjoyed the excitement of Christmas trips to France and Spain. They spent spring break towing a travel trailer from Copenhagen to Italy and back, and, true to their Swedish roots, took a ferry to Sweden to ship their Volvo back to the States at the end of the year.

Back in New Jersey, Layton continued to serve local churches, including Wayside UMC near Oakhurst. He was ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church upon graduating with his Bachelor’s of Divinity. He spent the next year at Princeton, earning a Master’s in Theology, and then the family moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he served as pastor to the Calvary United Methodist Church for five years.

Layton designed a project that would turn into the Trenton Ecumenical Area Ministry, and spent five years building a collaborative social support program that brought local churches of different denominations together to streamline and bolster piecemeal homeless outreach programs and battered women’s shelters. His family lived in Hamilton, New Jersey in those years.

Layton finished his pastoral career at Medford United Methodist Church, his church home for 15 years, where he is still remembered fondly. At the church, Layton and Vi once helped cut the cost of a building extension by personally tiling the bathrooms. Layton presided over enough weddings in those years that he dubbed himself “Marryin’ Sam”, and he continued officiating weddings for his grandchildren well into his retirement. Two of his sons and their families were members of the church while he was pastor.

The couple spent the early years of retirement in their cottage in the Pocono before settling at Penney Farms, their home for the last 22 years. At Penney Farms, Layton was predictably active in the community, mowing the cemetery, doing pickup for Resale, and helping to plan the Commons building. He swam laps in the community pool well into his 80s and often enjoyed a good cup of coffee at the café where Vi would volunteer.

Layton had an unflagging entrepreneurial spirit, evidenced by his various side jobs throughout his life that were interwoven with his enduring commitment to his ministerial work. He sold bikes out of Vi’s sorority house garage in college, sold made-to-order suits at one point, and even sold and installed storm windows when the opportunity arose. By the time the Anderson family opened Smart Microsystems Computer Store in the mid-1980s, Layton was too busy with his pastoral duties to participate but was still involved as the “lunch dude”, often visiting his sons at his mid-day break.

Layton and Viola traveled so much together that some countries blur together in memories. Notable among their travels were a trip to Antarctica, boating along the Danube River, the many church trips they led to the Holy Land, a cruise to Alaska with their grown sons and their wives, and the four summers they spent on an archaeological dig in Caesarea, Israel. Their house in Penney Farms is filled with art and other items collected in their travels.

Importantly, he never forgot to have fun – Layton could jitterbug on roller skates, would go skiing in the nearby Pocono mountains, and enjoyed going for coffee runs in his Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. He made time to read the newspaper every day, enjoying the Doonesbury cartoon alongside the latest news.

A man of great commitment to community, Layton was past President of the Rotary Club of Green Cove Springs and a member of the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and the Shrine Club. Throughout his life, he never hesitated to stand up for what he believed in, even if it ruffled feathers. He stood up for racial justice in the ministry, fairness in government procurement processes in his carpet sales, and was always there to lend a hand in times of need. As a minister, he was an important mentor to younger pastors, and would volunteer as a lifeguard for church camps and events.

Layton will be remembered for his deep calm, silliness, and love of all things sweet, especially chocolate. Friends think of him as smiling and upbeat, always ready with a wisecrack and a quick response. The Anderson family, and many others, will miss him greatly.

Layton will be interred at the Penney Farms Cemetery in Florida. His memorial service is postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will likely be held Easter weekend of 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Layton’s honor to Penney Retirement Community Resident Aid Fund or Mobility Worldwide in Penney Farms.