Edward Anderson, Las Vegas religious figure and former Gorman principal, dies

The Rev. Edward Anderson, a longtime religious figure, teacher and former principal, will be remembered for his compassionate and loving spirit, friends and colleagues said.

Anderson died Sunday in the Life Care Center South Las Vegas, where he resided. He was 94.

Anderson had been a member of the Viatorian religious congregation, a group of Catholics, for 71 years. In Las Vegas, he served as a pastor at the St. Viator Catholic Community Church and a rector for Guardian Angel Cathedral.

The Rev. Tom von Behren, who holds Anderson’s former position at St. Viator, said of Anderson, “He was a very gentle person who accepted people for who they were. He was a man that didn’t judge people at all, he let them be and let them develop their faith with God on their own.”

In 1969, Anderson, a member of the Viatorian religious congregation, became the first Provincial Superior of the Clerics of St. Viator elected by priests in the United States. Before Anderson, the position was appointed by leadership in Vatican City.

von Behren said that was a significant accomplishment for Anderson.

“The very young in our community saw something special in him,” von Behren said. “I think they saw a man of compassion, a man of wisdom that could take the community in new directions.”

Anderson, a former high school teacher in New York and Illinois, moved to Las Vegas in 1966, when he became Bishop Gorman High School’s fifth principal. The school’s campus was on Maryland Parkway then.

The Rev Bill Haesaert, a fellow St. Viator church pastor, was a student of Anderson and one of his closest friends. He said Anderson always saw the hidden potential in his students, even when they couldn’t see it in themselves.

“He brought the best out of all of us, because of his care and concern,” Haesaert said. “He truly taught by example.”

Haesaert said that outside of the church, Anderson’s favorite pastimes were playing golf and reading The New York Times cover to cover.

Anderson was the adopted son of his late parents, Edward and Catherine O’Shea Anderson. He is survived by his Viatorian brothers.

There will be a Mass at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at St. Viator Catholic Community Church, 2461 E. Flamingo Road. A burial will follow at Davis Memorial Park, 6200 S. Eastern Ave.

Contact Rocio Hernandez at rhernandez@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5208.