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Mike Anders obituary
After a stint as a medic on the USS Nimitz during the last days of the Vietnam War (Mike even gave a tour to King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain-he was the only seaman fluent enough in Spanish), Mike began a career in teaching. Mike arrived in
Cincinnati in 1993 to teach at Cincinnati Country Day, where he taught Spanish, coached the chess and golf teams, and wore funny ties for 15 years. A teacher of both Spanish and French for over 25 years, Mike taught both halting beginners and fluent
Advanced Placement students. His career included stints at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix and, most recently, Clinton County High School in Albany, KY.
Over the years Mike's Chess Clubs attracted students of all types. At CCD the Club grew so popular that Chess was banned during free bells. Mike grew famous for his weekly "knightings," including Sir Cumference, Sir Cuitous and Sir Rated (the last for a
player who hewed his way to a quick victory). Breakfast burrito sales, featuring Mike's own sausage and salsa and pervasive pungent odors, kept the team in boards and timers.
Mike's golf teams enjoyed success that often belied their talent, perhaps because of his sartorial flair. For one team Mike purchased argyle vests (and caps) and plus-fours-outfits the team wore for every match. One year he took his team to Scotland to
play the original links courses, and then on to England where Mike parents were born.
When Mike took up the bagpipes, he practiced alongside the whizzing cars on Ronald Reagan Highway, the traffic muffling the occasional off note. His passion for music lead him to take up the guitar, an instrument he taught to his daughters. To these two
daughters, Ariel and Aubrey, Mike also read-a long-stemmed pipe in the corner of his mouth-the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy every night for months.
A food-lover Mike was most famous for his gumbos and "mixed grills," which featured pork and beef in all forms; his meals could only be faulted for the complete absence of anything remotely green or healthful.
Mike's love of flying led him to acquire his pilot's license in 2002. He enjoyed narrating from the cockpit personal stories and lines from Shakespeare as he lighted up the airfields below and told dozens of the 1000 jokes he knew. Blessed with a
lightening-quick mind, Mike savored puns and word play, his synapses firing at a higher speed than anyone else's.
Mike was happiest with his daughters, in the classroom, and up in the sky.
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