Miles Thomas “Tom” Anderson, 71

Miles Thomas “Tom” Anderson, 71 of Overland Park, KS passed away Tuesday, August 29, 2023, at Advent Health, Shawnee Mission, surrounded by his loving family.

Tom was born on August 14, 1952, in Greenbush, Minnesota. His parents, Joseph and Dorothy Ann (Simpson) Anderson, welcomed Tom and his twin sister Toni a few months earlier than expected. As with many other premature babies during that time, the oxygen needed to keep Tom alive sacrificed his eyesight but not his spirit.

Tom’s lack of sight never kept him from exploring his surroundings, helping others, or occasionally getting into mischief. His great sense of humor and hearty laugh brought joy to many. Other children could not hide from his finely tuned hearing while playing hide and seek. He walked by himself to visit his grandparents in their home, often relying on the echo from their house when the dirt path ended. Tom was very interested in cars and sports. As a child he could identify the make and model of a vehicle from the handle. Tom especially enjoyed the Minnesota Twins baseball games and found creative ways to play “ball”. Even as an adult he regularly followed Lincoln High School sports on the radio or internet and later developed an interest in football, regularly watching both professional and college football games with his sister-in-law Sandra.

Tom began his education at the residential Minnesota State School for the Blind in Faribault, MN, traveling many air miles to and from Minneapolis to Thief River Falls for his Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and summer school breaks later finishing his Junior and Senior years of high school in Thief River Falls where he participated in band, wrestling and choir. From there, Tom attended two years at Northland Community College and in 1975 completed his degree in Political Science with a Music minor at St. Cloud University where he was chosen by his classmates to give the commencement address. Tom interned with congressman Richard Nolan in Washington, D.C.

Throughout his life, Tom remained active in the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) where he met the love of his life, Linda Carpenter of Overland Park, KS, because of their love of music and devotion to Christianity. They were married in July of 1976.

Music was very important to Tom throughout his life. In addition to playing in the band and participating in the school choir, Tom sang in a barbershop quartet with his friends. Tom, Linda, and Sandra (Linda’s twin sister) had a musical ministry and frequently performed at many venues with a wide repertoire of music. Tom was often asked to sing the Lutefisk song, which he sang with great enthusiasm.

During summers after high school, Tom honed his mobility skills in Minneapolis which started him on a path that would lead to a long career teaching mobility and braille at The Colorado Center for the Blind. Tom was one of the original three teachers when the school was founded and wore many hats, including a hard hat while demonstrating and teaching students to rock climb. In 2015, Tom retired and returned to live in Overland Park, Kansas where he remained active in the NFB, serving as President of the Johnson-Wyandotte County chapter of the NFB and President of the Blind Christians Group within the NFB. Tom was a frequent and fearless traveler, highly regarded for his mobility skills and was appointed to travel to Poland and Zambia to teach mobility. His knowledge of Denver streets required to teach mobility to students at the “Center” often meant that people traveling with him had no need for a map or GPS. Anyone walking with Tom couldn’t dally as he walked very fast with his long white cane tapping guiding his way. He walked even faster if getting coffee was at the end of the journey.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Dorothy Anderson, one sister, JoAnn Beebe (Ken) and one niece, Nicole Donarski. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Linda, sister Susan McKay (Gary Murphy) and twin sister Toni Anderson Donarski, many nieces, nephews and extended family.

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