John Anderson passed away peacefully on November 22, 2024, at his home at Lafollette Court Assisted Living in Lafollette, TN. A former resident of Dalton, Pittsfield, and Lenox MA, John is survived by his son David of Northampton MA, stepson Keith Sharp of Lafollette TN, and grand-stepson Jeremy Brazeau of Pittsfield MA. John was 102 years old. He was preceded in death by his first wife Elizabeth (died 1993), his second wife Avery (died 2011), and his third wife Hilda (died 2020).

John was born on August 21, 1922, to Harvey (an accountant) and Lenora Ingram (a nurse) in the coal-mining town of Dante VA. After graduation from high school, John enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) in electrical engineering. Upon graduating with honors in 1943, John immediately enlisted in the Army, where he was sent to the South Pacific as a radar technician.

After the war, General Electric hired John to test transformers in Pittsfield MA. After working there briefly, GE sent him to New York City, where he worked in a lightning monitoring lab at the top of the Empire State Building.

Back in Pittsfield, he married Betty Weller (a GE secretary) in 1948. John worked at the GE High Voltage Laboratory in Pittsfield, and later at GE’s Project Ultra-High Voltage, a ground-breaking test transmission line in Lenox MA, where John became project manager.

In 1971, GE promoted John to manager of AC Transmission Studies in Schenectady NY. During this time, John got seriously involved with wilderness canoeing and kayaking in his spare time. He made numerous kayaking trips in the Adirondacks and Canada.

In 1972, in an effort to reduce cold-war tensions, GE began holding technical conferences with Russia, to share information mutually beneficial to both countries. John traveled to Russia in 1973 to take part in conferences.

In 1974, John returned to Pittsfield as the manager of GE’s High Voltage laboratory. During this time, John hiked both the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail end to end. For a few years, he volunteered as manager of the Appalachian Trail through Massachusetts.

About 1980, John moved back to Schenectady to be a consulting engineer for the GE Electric Utility Systems Engineering Department. GE had John traveling all over the world as a troubleshooter. This became tiresome. In 1984, he took an early retirement from GE, and began his own consulting business. He became a senior consultant for Power Technologies, Inc., a group of consulting engineers in Schenectady NY. John received a number of awards for outstanding work, and was made a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He was also elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering – a distinct honor.

In 1993, John’s wife Betty died. He remarried in 1994 to Avery Spencer, an artist in Dalton. In 1994, he received the IEEE Gold Medal for Engineering Excellence – a prestigious award.

Over the years, John has coauthored five books on power engineering, and filed numerous patents for engineering devices.

In the summer of 2015, John and Hilda moved to an assisted living facility in Virginia where they lived for a couple years. In 2017, John and Hilda moved to another assisted living facility in LaFollette TN. Hilda passed away in 2020, leaving John alone.

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, never stop learning, seek your place in the sun and leave the rest to God.”

No services are planned.

Condolences for the family of John Anderson may be given at http://www.cross-smithfuneralhome.com

Arrangements by Cross-Smith Funeral Home

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