Ivy Irene Anderson Obituary
In Lieu of flowers the family request that all donations be made to: The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana.
Fund Development
20 s Clark St.
Suite 20
Chicago,IL 60603
Ivy Irene Anderson was born in Flint, Michigan on November 18, 1957, to the late Eugene and Willie
Anderson. She was the youngest of five children. Ivy went home to be with the Lord on June 25, 2022, in
Chicago, Illinois, after fighting a courageous battle with cancer.
Ivy attended Flint Community Schools and was recognized in her elementary years as having gifted
academic abilities, often attending special classes that facilitated academic growth and stimulated her
intellectual curiosity. She graduated from Northwestern High School with honors in 1975 and continued
her education at General Motors Institute (now Kettering University), where she earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1981. She went on to earn her MBA in Finance and
Information Technology from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1984.
Early in her career, Ivy was a mechanical engineer and product manager and later became an IT
consultant with a focus on higher education. She worked at a number of prominent organizations and
top-tier consulting firms throughout her career. These included Scott Paper Company in Seattle,
Washington; FMC in San Jose, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Accenture, Gartner and
Plante Moran in Chicago, Illinois.
Although she excelled professionally, it was her personal endeavors and activities, along with a steadfast
involvement in the lives of her extended family and friends that remained lifelong passions. As a
matriarch of the Anderson family, her for families to connect with their roots and to become
knowledgeable about their histories led her to create the first Anderson-Johnson family reunion in 1995.
This annual event brought together families from California, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi,
Missouri and Tennessee. She continued to establish and nurture these relationships over the years. They
brought her so much joy because of new and extended family connections.
As a proud family historian and avid photographer, she commemorated every major family event with a
published book that proudly told their stories. Whether it was a birth, death, marriage or graduation, Ivy
relished in her role as family photographer. Her nieces and nephews knew that “TT Ivy,” as she was
affectionately known, would be there to capture their accomplishments and milestones.
Ivy was a firm believer in the transformative power of education and mentored many youth, including
her nieces and nephews, and many others. She often provided guidance, support and resources they
needed for academic success. She took each niece and nephew and the children of family friends on
college tours across the U.S. to select the best school possible for their individual pursuits. She did not
hesitate to engage with them on education, careers, or any other matters she deemed to be important
or necessary for success. She also used vacations to broaden their experiences with interactions outside
their everyday lives. Whether it was the Grand Canyon, Mackinaw Island (Michigan), Argentina, Niagara
Falls, Alaska, Martha Vineyard, South Africa or Kansas City, or family cruises, Ivy was “all in” for
broadening life experiences.
Ivy was a self-less giver and volunteered with a number of national and community organizations. She
served on the board of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and volunteered with Project Literacy and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. She also participated in Toastmasters International. She was a member of the Washington Park Camera Club in Chicago.
As active as she was philanthropic, Ivy earned a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do from the
Peace School in Chicago. She was pursing a third-degree black belt prior to her illness. She cherished
walking along the lakefront in Chicago for exercise and photography, touring the city’s rich trove of art
exhibits, or visiting skate parks to capture special moments in time. Ivy lived a rich, full, productive and
involved life and will forever live in the hearts of her family and friends.
Ivy leaves behind to cherish her memories: two sisters: Jacqueline Anderson and Patricia Anderson
Brown; sister-in-law, Gracie Anderson; nieces: Casanya Amenyuie (Francis), LaTryna Sims, Kyranai
Bridges and Joi Nicholas (Marcus); nephew: Alex Brown; 14 great nieces and nephews, and 8 great-great
nieces and nephews; significant other, Alphonzo Wesson; lifelong sister-friends: Kelly Dixon, Karen
Felder, Loretta Gillespie- Farrow, Joni Jackson, Renee Jones, Gail and Teresa Lunch, Antoinette
Malveaux, Sherry Mixson and Joyce Page; special cousins: Florence Arps-Lynch, Bradford, Madyun,
Lewis, and Web families; and numerous other relatives and friends.
Ivy’s parents, Eugene and Willie Anderson, and two brothers, Eugene Anderson, Jr. and Khalis Anderson
preceded her in death.
