Ed Anderson, founder of Anderson Insurance Agency

Longtime Babylon Village resident and business owner Edward A. Anderson Jr. died Aug. 5, 2008 at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip of complications from diabetes. He was 81 years old.

Born 1927 in Brooklyn to Edward and Teresa, he spent his life on Long Island, most of it in Babylon Village where he lived for more than 50 years. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and was stationed at Pearl Harbor aboard the U.S.S. Sicily Air Craft Carrier.

For some time, he worked as a conductor for the Long Island Railroad. In 1956, he started working for Prudential Insurance Company where he remained for 35 years. In 1975 he started his own business, the Anderson Agency, which was first situated on Deer Park Avenue in Babylon Village, then at a building he built himself at 1 John Street and finally on Fire Island Avenue where it is operated today by his son-in-law Brad Maier.

"He was a fantastic guy and a great mentor," said Maier. "We worked together for 15 years and he taught me all the 'ins and outs' of the business. I always admired how he put his clients first and they were so faithful to him. I'm honored to carry on his legacy."

Besides living in Babylon Village for more than 25 years, he ran a 70-acre ranch in Unger, West Virginia. where he raised and sold buffalo and built his own home named "Urazin' What?!?!" He also ran a successful stamp collecting business on EBay.

He leaves behind his wife of more than 56 years, Clare (nee Power); his children: Edward III and his wife Kathleen of Farmingville; James and his wife Sally; Regina, Robert and Bernadette Maier and her husband Brad, all of Babylon Village. His grandchildren, Keely Schuppert, Patricia, Catherine, Christopher, Amy, Kaitlyn, Elizabeth and Kelly and Barbara Maier and his great grandchildren, Christina, Nicole and Allison Schuppert also survive him as do his siblings, William, Ronald, Kenneth and Sr. Teresa O.P.

Mr. Anderson reposed at the Claude R. Boyd-Spencer Funeral Home, Babylon Village, Aug. 7 and 8, 2008. A Funeral Mass was said Aug. 9, 2008 at St. Joseph's R.C. Church, Babylon. Interment followed in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Babylon.

Donations in Mr. Anderson's name can be sent to St. Joseph's Church 39 North Carll Ave., Babylon NY 11702- 2701, or to the Dominican Sisters, 555 Albany Avenue, Amityville NY 11701 or to The Good Shepherd Hospice, 4747-20 Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station NY 11776.