David Roy Anderson, 92
David Roy Anderson, known and admired for his intellect, eloquence, and the rare ability to welcome all points of view with kindness and grace, died peacefully at home with his loving wife Phoebe Girard at his side, on October 3, 2025. He was 92.
Born March 16th,1933 in Westbrook, Maine at the beginning of the New Deal, raised by loving and able civic-minded parents and grandparents, David grew up in small-town Maine — Caribou, Dover-Foxcroft, Gorham — before attending Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School. He would go on to shape and be shaped by the distinctive places he called home: Washington, DC; Arlington, Virginia; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and his maternal family’s homeplace since1857, “Silvercroft,” in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.
Being “free and able to advance my political beliefs” was a value that David lived by. This took on many forms including participating in local and state political groups, joining the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, advocating for those on the margins, or those often overlooked. As an attorney in Washington, DC, David was most inspired by several of his pro-bono assignments like representing the indigenous people of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands for reparations from nuclear testing in the 1950’s.
Beyond being a devoted father of three, his joys included a life-long love of literature, book collecting, family history, writing letters to the editor, a good hand of cribbage, the Boston Red Sox, visits with his grown children and their families, and any and all time with his marvelous wife. David always took the greatest delight in spending time with the people who kept it interesting such as his childhood chums, college classmates, personal connections, church communities, non-profit boards, and a Thursday-morning gathering of friends known affectionately as “the Rant.”
David was predeceased by his first wife Maryse Haan Anderson, his sister Joan Farnsworth and so many dear friends that he cherished deeply. He is survived by his wife Phoebe Girard, three children: Marc Anderson and partner Mary; Chuck Anderson, and wife Jennifer; and Kate Anderson; his five grandchildren –Rachel, Parker, Samuel, Marcel and Muriel– and in his own words; “so very many amazing people who are so good to me.”
His funeral services will be held at Mattapoisett Congregational Church, 27 Church St., in Mattapoisett on Tuesday October 28th, at 11:00am. An act of kindness is the greatest gift. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Mattapoisett Free Public Library Trust Purrington Lecture Series, P.O. Box 475, Mattapoisett, MA 02739, and/or the Mattapoissett Congregational Church Capital Campaign Fund are welcome and appreciated.
