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Saskatoon’s athletic scene lost one of its own after longtime business owner Al Anderson passed away on Tuesday.
Anderson, 92, was living at Trinity Manor and Hospice at Glengarda in Saskatoon.
According to a post from the Hampton Village Community Association, in 1957, he opened Riversdale’s Al Anderson’s Source for Sports which still serves sporting goods and expertise to Saskatoon families.
Anderson, a father of five, married his high school sweetheart Joan in 1955 according to an obituary.
After the birth of their son Doug, Anderson founded a home in Saskatoon for people experiencing intellectual disabilities called Elmwood Residences. Doug had cerebral palsy and he and his mother predeceased Anderson. According to the provincial government, he also founded Cosmopolitan Industries Ltd., and the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute.
Former Saskatoon mayor Don Atchison knew Anderson almost his entire life and says his passing is a great loss for the city of Saskatoon.
“He was a phenomenal singer, a great motivational speaker as well, and just a tremendous person,” Atchison said.
The two met during the time that Anderson’s business was on 21st Street, and over the years the two became close friends through their involvement in Cosmo Industries.
“I don’t think people realize how much he has done for the city of Saskatoon,” Atchison said.
Anderson helped many people through his business, Atchison explained, as he recalled a time when a sports team came to the city for a national championship and had their equipment stolen, but Anderson looked after them.
When Atchison’s dad walked from Saskatoon to Regina for his 95th birthday, Anderson helped him with what he needed to get to the other end.
“He’s the type of person that really made the city shine,” Atchison said.
Throughout his years impacting the community in Saskatoon, Anderson received the 2023 Saskatchewan Order of Merit, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Saskatchewan), CTV Saskatoon Citizen of the Year 2009, the B’nai Brith We’re Proud of You Award 1979 and the 2022 Howard Stensrud Spirit of Cosmo Award.
In Anderson’s acceptance video from the 2022 Howard Stensrud Spirit of Cosmo Award, he said it all started when Howard’s wife invited his wife and him to their house.
Over coffee, the couple spoke, as Anderson recounts they spoke at length.
“And we talked and we talked and talked and the more we talked, the more we convinced ourselves that we were of the same cloth and that we started to see things together,” said Anderson. “We were really a good fit that lasted a lifetime and opened a lot of doors.”
Michael Stensrud presents Al Anderson with the 2022 Howard Stensrud Spirit of Cosmo Award. (650 CKOM)
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit release says his store partnered with Cosmo Industries to create Cosmo Golf. The initiative provided people with intellectual impairment work to produce golf clubs that were sold throughout North America.
Ned Powers also wrote a book on Anderson’s life titled Al Anderson Reflections: A Saskatoon Story.
Anderson’s celebration of life will be at the Zion Lutheran Church on July 16 at 11:00 a.m., which he was a member of for 86 years according to his obituary.
The live stream for the service is at www.saskatoonfuneralhome.com
With files from 650 CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk.