Denice Anna Anderson

Denice Anna Anderson, age 77, of Clinton, Mich., passed away on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at Adrian Bay Rehab and Nursing Center. She had been in poor health for several years.

Born on November 11, 1947, in Detroit, Mich. to the late Carl M. and Geraldine E. (Willer) Anderson, Denice’s life did not begin well. The first four years started out normal, growing up with older sister Joyce and her parents in Berkley, Mich. Then, in 1952, at the age of four, she contracted polio. Polio was peaking in 1952, affecting 37 out of 100,000 people, killing nearly half a million people worldwide and leaving many more paralyzed. Coinciding with her polio diagnosis, her little brother, Carl, was born in 1952. When admitted to the hospital, they performed a tracheotomy to help her breathe. Fortunately, she responded well to many hours spent in an “iron lung” that helped her breathe and preserve her lung function. When discharged, months later, she suffered some paralysis of her limbs. Her father, Carl, assisted by her mother, Gerry, worked relentlessly every day to exercise, massage and stretch her arms and legs. She was not always a willing participant in these activities.

Thankfully, because of this, she regained full mobility. She was one of the first patients to receive the Salk vaccine after her recovery. Sadly, her bout with polio did not end there. In her late 60s, she was diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome that often affects polio survivors years after their initial polio recovery. While not severely affecting her at first, it slowly caught up with her, requiring her to use a cane to walk, then a walker and finally a wheelchair while also contributing to her health decline. She fought through it all, however, to have a productive, adventurous and enjoyable life.

She was confirmed at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Tecumseh. A 1965 graduate of Clinton High School, Denice continued her education, acquiring a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University. One of her first official journalism positions was as a reporter for The Tecumseh Herald in Tecumseh, Mich., a position she held off and on for years during her summer breaks from school. Many may also remember Denice as the girl making and selling popcorn at the Clinton Theater (who would occasionally sneak a free bag to her little brother). She always smelled really good when she got home from work.

During her five years at MSU, she worked for the student run MSU Daily News as a student editor. After graduating from MSU in 1971, she continued her job at MSU while also being hired by the Lansing State Journal where she worked for an additional six years as a copy editor. This was a very busy, yet enjoyable time in Denice’s life. She was working two jobs, she had a boyfriend, and she played tennis on a regular basis, took horse-riding lessons and even became a rifle sharpshooter (that made her father, also a military and State Police sharpshooter, very proud). She lived in a nice little house and pretty much had everything going for her.

Then in 1978 she decided she had done everything she wanted to do at the Lansing State Journal; there was no higher positions there that she wanted and she simply wanted to do something different, so she up and embarked on a two-year journey around the United States, alone in her little Chevy Nova that she often slept in, a very courageous thing for a young woman to do. Her journey took her down through New Orleans, then the Southwest and Northwest, spending six or seven months at a ranch resort in Glacier National Park in Montana. She loved it there, the mountains and cool crisp air. Then she headed back closer to home to drive all around Michigan and around Lake Superior. During her travels, particularly in the western states, she earned money working on ranches where she rode horses, lived in bunk houses, cleaned out stalls and so forth. She loved it.

Her travels behind her, she then departed for New York City, again, a very courageous thing for a young woman to do. In New York, she lived in a small studio apartment in downtown New York City, and she worked as a freelance copy editor developing relationships with many of the large New York area publishing houses. She edited many popular novels, medical articles, documentaries and a wide assortment of magazine publications. She rubbed elbows with many famous authors and even some actors during her time in New York.

Then in 1989, she once again grew restless and was looking for new challenges. So, what did she do? She moved across the entire country to Santa Fe, N.M. and officially settled down there, where she continued her work as a freelance copy editor.

In 1998, it was back to Clinton and the old house she grew up in to help attend to her ailing mother who was living with her brother, Carl. She continued her freelance copy editing and even worked again for a period of time for The Tecumseh Herald. Around 2012 the last of her publishing resources that accepted freelance copy editing dried up and she semi-retired at that time. 

All and all, it was a wonderful, productive, enjoyable and adventurous life that Denice lived. She was a very kindhearted and free-spirited person and will be missed. Denice is survived by her sister Joyce Anderson of Ypsilanti, her brother Carl (Josephine) Anderson of Dundee, a nephew, John (Jean) Anderson, niece, Christa (William) Branum, niece, Jaime Lange, niece, Kelsi Capaul and 13 grand nieces and nephews. A private celebration of life will be held sometime this summer in her honor.

Condolences may be sent to Joyce or Carl at P.O. Box 38, Dundee, MI, 48131. Thank you is extended to Trinity-St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, the Mission Pointe Rehab Center in Ypsilanti, the Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian, the Adrian Bay Rehab and Nursing Center and her homecare team of physicians, occupational therapists, nurses, physical therapists and the Clinton Fire Department and Lenawee County, Washtenaw County and Jackson County rescue crews for all the wonderful services they provided in such a kind and compassionate manner during the past six months.