Obituary of Barry Anders

Funeral services for Mr. Barry Anders are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, December 23, 2023 at Cherry Ridge Baptist Church with Bro. Dennis Hackler officiating. Interment will follow in Beekman Cemetery. A time of visitation will be held Saturday from 12 noon - 2 p.m. service time at the church. Barry Lynn Anders, 72, of Monroe was born February 7, 1951 in Bastrop, LA to parents Marion Jasper “Jap” Anders and Mary Dovie Griffis Anders. He went to be with his Heavenly Father on December 21, 2023 after a lengthy battle with liver cancer. He fought for over 3 years daily which is a miracle considering the type of cancer he had. Barry and his family attributed that to all the prayers that were lifted up for him and his family as well as his oncologist, Dr. Barry Weinberger, who was with him through the whole process. Barry was a graduate of Bastrop High School, Class of 1969. He was awarded a scholarship to Northeast University in Monroe, LA to play basketball. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend due to a family rule of being moved from home the day after graduation. Instead, Barry began a life in sales. He worked up to management in a short period of time at Morgan and Lindsey’s, where he would work in multiple cities until he moved home to Bastrop to help care for his mother. Barry would manage Sherwin Williams until he opened his own business, B&B Paint and Decorating in 1986. There was a name change to B&B Carpet later in the 1990’s. Barry enjoyed working with the public. Indeed, he often said kids should work in the public at least one year after graduating high school to basically learn the correct way to act and how to treat people. He also referred to the store as his church. Barry took the opportunity to talk to everyone who entered the doors about the Lord coming back. A favorite saying was “The government is getting us ready for the end times…The Lord is coming back soon.” Barry met the love of his life, Susan Dianne Gill, on the way back from the State Fair in Shreveport, Louisiana. She ran into his car and caused quite a bit of damage to her vehicle and some damage to his. They began a friendship that changed to love and 18 months later, they were married. They almost made it to their 53rd wedding anniversary in January 2024. Barry and Dianne Anders have 3 children: son Mark Allen Anders, wife Christy Anders of Monroe, LA; son Jeffery Scott Anders, wife Clara Anders of Hamburg/Hebert Springs, AR; daughter Jennifer Anders of Monroe, LA. He is survived by 4 grandchildren: Bethany Anders Stell, husband Jake Stell currently of St Louis, MO, Brantley Scott Anders currently of Grayson, KY, Trent Allen Anders, and Gibson Reed Anders of Homer, LA and one great grandchild, Emory Jo Anders. He is preceded in death by his parents, 5 siblings (James Anders, LeRoy Anders, Ronnie Anders, Mike Anders, and Rosemary Watts), and countless aunts, uncles, and grandparents. There are plenty of descriptive terms for Barry. Hard-working: Barry began seriously working at age 9 driving tractors and continued until he graduated high school. He worked as long as his health permitted. Generosity: Barry contributed to many people and causes throughout the years. He was always willing to help in whatever way he could. Christian: Barry and his wife were members of Cherry Ridge Baptist Church in Bastrop for 37 years. He was a witness to all: family, customers, salespeople, strangers on a bench at the mall, as well as many health care workers in the last few years. Patient, kind, rare to lose his temper are a few other terms used to describe him. His hobbies included deer hunting (member of Lacy Hill Hunting Club in Warren, AR since 1973), gardening (loved daylilies, roses and Japanese snowballs), travelling to great restaurants (even if you had to drive a couple hours to get to them), watching LSU sports, and chauffeuring his wife and daughter to the next adventure (lots of shopping trips and drives to Hot Springs). Serving the family as pallbearers will be Lynn Sanders, Jerry Deville, Greg Hawkins, Eugene Copeland, Tony Tullos, and Todd Wilson. Sam Harris will serve as honorary pallbearer.