WA - Hugh Riddell Anderson passed away on May 26, 2025. He was born to Ann Maria and William Arthur Anderson in Iowa City, IA, where he and his younger sister Cornelia grew up. As a boy he enjoyed music and the outdoors and developed an interest in flying early on: he earned his pilot's license while in High School. He felt his experience at U High at the University of Iowa was a formative one. While in college Hugh spent several summers working on a farm in eastern Oregon and hiking around Mount Rainier. This experience cemented his love of the Pacific Northwest.

He attended the University of Iowa and received his Ph.D. in Space Physics from Caltech in Pasadena, CA. He frequently commented that he felt so fortunate to do the work he loved. As a graduate student he travelled to both the Arctic and Antarctic. At The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Hugh worked on early planetary space craft until he moved to Rice University in Houston, TX. There he taught and his team built and flew rockets into the aurora borealis to seek to understand cosmic rays in collaboration with NASA in Fairbanks, AK. He also flew an instrument on payloads of huge balloons to study the aurora in Churchill, Canada. In 1981 Hugh moved his research to SAIC NW in Bellevue, WA, where he worked until retirement at age 80. He also developed Athena, a STEM project for school teachers.

Hugh met his wife, Wendy, in Churchill and a month after marrying they purchased 3198D, their Cessna 180, which they flew from Houston and Snohomish all over the Continental US, Alaska and northern Canada for business and for pleasure. As their family grew they continued to fly. He was equally comfortable landing among the jets at large airports and remote sites. The family would often camp on the sides of small runways. Camping, hiking, cross country skiing were family pastimes.

A founding member of Eastside Symphony Orchestra, Hugh also played his violin with Hildeman Strings in Seattle. He enjoyed being part of multiple string quartets and travelling to music camps in beautiful locations. Hugh enjoyed theater and natural and human history and continued to pursue these interests in retirement.

Hugh leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Wendy; his children Zoe Jennifer, Shelby (Ross), and Ian; his grandchildren Iris and Rosemary; and niece Winter (Lawrence) and their children Sie and Ivy.