Richard Samuel "Rick" Anderson

Richard Anderson ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by The Cremation Society of Iowa - Des Moines on Mar. 6, 2026.Richard Samuel Anderson, 75, of Des Moines, IA passed away on February 25, 2026, surrounded by family and friends.Obituaries are supposed to be short ways to sum up someone's life. If you spent any time with Rick, you would know you cannot shortly sum up his life. He was a caring, hardworking, fun, car and motorcycle loving, family man.Rick was born to Glen Jr. and Josephine Anderson on September 1,1950 in Des Moines, IA. He grew up in Waterloo, IA and graduated from Columbus High School in 1968. Some of his favorite memories were the large holiday dinners at the home of his grandparents, Samuel and Verda Caliguiri. Other good memories from his childhood were the times he went fishing with his grandpa Glen Sr. Anderson. While he was in school, he was a member of the Chevaliers Junior Drum and Bugle Corps and worked at Del's Farm Grocery. After graduating high school, he moved to West Des Moines, IA to be with his brothers and parents.While in Des Moines, he met his beautiful wife, Barbara, or as he affectionately called her "Barbie". They married on September 23, 1972, at Sacred heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines, IA. Together they had three children. They spent their time taking their sailboat Tequila Sunrise out on Saylorville lake, taking an RV to Sturgis, SD, enjoying Sunday family dinners with the grandparents, and of course motorcycle rides. While raising their three children, Rick worked at Pester Derby, where he started as a pump jockey and worked his way up to Vice President of marketing. After 30 years, he retired in mid-1997 and went to Dairy Queen University. In late 1997 he and his wife, Barbara bought a Dairy Queen on SW 9 th Street in Des Moines, IA. He renamed it Barbara Ann's Dairy Queen, and they opened the store together in 1998. While running the Dairy Queen, they welcomed six of their seven grandchildren. Being a grandfather was something he was very proud of and held near and dear to his heart. They sold the Dairy Queen in 2015. In 2016, they welcomed their seventh grandchild.As his brother says, "Rick was a collector and his biggest collection were his friends." Many of which he met through the different hobbies he had. One of the hobbies Rick called "the Anderson curse" was car restoration. His father, Glen Jr., passed down a love of car restoration down to him. Rick later passed down the love of cars to his son, and a couple of his grandchildren. His most recent project was finishing his 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. Rick's other hobbies included cowboy action shooting, riding his 1985 Italian-made Vespa, and riding/admiring motorcycles.Rick will be lovingly remembered by his wife Barbara; three children, Heather Anderson, Anthony "Tony" (Jennifer "Jen") Anderson, Emily (John Aaron) Luna; seven grandchildren, Madison Anderson, Sophia, Andrew, Isabella "Bella" Anderson, Mariah, Addison "Addie", Johnnie Luna; two brothers, an aunt, nieces, nephews, and many cousins.Rick is preceded in death by his parents Glen Jr. and Josephine Anderson.Rick would not want us to be sad, and would rather we spend our time celebrating life, so that is what we will do. Per his wishes, there will not be a funeral, but the family has decided on May 17th at Sandpiper Recreation Area there will be a celebration of life. Please bring your hot rods, motorcycles, your favorite photo of or with Rick, and your favorite memories of him.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at the link below in his memory to the American Diabetes Association.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.