Priscilla Ann Anderson
Priscilla Ann Anderson was born April 24, 1956 in the Presidio of San Francisco, CA, to Dorothy Abbod and Donald Catcott, who was serving in Korea at the time. Her childhood was spent in Olympia, WA, with her two sisters, Cherie and Elaine, and they later moved to Pomeroy, WA, where she graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1974.
Priscilla knew she wanted to pursue a career in education, and she had a passion for teaching children who had learning disabilities, so she moved to Nampa, ID to attend Northwest Nazarene College where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 1978. Priscilla began her 34-year career teaching at Mary McPherson Elementary and Meridian Elementary in Meridian, ID, and went on to advance her focus on learning disabilities with a Master’s degree in Special Education from Boise State University in 1986. Later, she moved to Meridian Middle School and continued teaching until 2000 when she moved into administration, taking a role as the Principal of Chief Joseph Elementary. After six very successful years there, Priscilla decided to take on the challenge of starting a brand-new school and hiring all new staff as the Principal of Prospect Elementary, which she absolutely loved, but said she would never do again. Then, six years after opening Prospect, she retired from education and the staff named the school library after her.
During Priscilla’s sophomore year of college, she began dating Mark, and in 1977 they got married at First Church of the Nazarene in Stockton, CA, where both of their families were living at the time. Priscilla and Mark lived in Nampa while finishing college, and they were members of Nampa First Church of the Nazarene, where they forged many lifelong friendships between church and college. They built a house in Nampa after Priscilla got started in her career, and celebrated with a New Year’s Eve party, which has continued on with the same group of friends for 43 years. Their only child, Christopher, was born in 1983, and Priscilla was teaching in Meridian, so they eventually moved to a new house there in 1990 and joined Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene after they were settled in. Then in 1999, they wanted to build a home that they would enjoy long into retirement, so they chose a place they loved in Eagle, ID, and lived there for the last 25 years.
As retirement years approached, Priscilla and Mark bought a condo in McCall, ID and spent a lot of time skiing and enjoying the town with friends and family for the 10 years that they owned it, and they became well-acquainted with the McCall Church of the Nazarene during those years in their home away from home. Priscilla loved to get out and see the world, and when she retired in 2012, she and Mark dedicated time to travelling. Across the US, they went up to Vermont and New York, down to Florida and Texas, and over to Alaska and Hawaii, and saw many other places between. They were able to see much of the Caribbean and Mexico, and took longer trips to destinations around the world, with some highlights being Israel, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands, through the Panama Canal, and attending the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany.
After retirement, Priscilla also volunteered at the Meridian Food Bank, helping with a program focused on helping children in need, and she later took on management of that program for many years. She dearly loved her two grandchildren, Evan and Violet, and spent every chance she could to attend their sports events and to make sure birthdays and holidays felt special.
Priscilla passed away on April 13, 2024, surrounded by her loving family after a brief battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband, son, daughter-in-law, two sisters, and two grandchildren.
A visitation for family and friends will be held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at Bowman Funeral Parlor, 10254 W. Carlton Bay Dr. in Garden City. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 pm, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, 150 W. Maestra St. in Meridian. A private committal will be held at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.
Arrangements are under the direction of Bowman Funeral Parlor of Garden City.