Wesley Alan Anderson, born Oct. 15, 1940 in Fortuna, left us on July 23, 2021. Wes passed peacefully at home on the ranch he dearly loved.

A graduate of Fortuna High School, Wes went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. While at Cal Poly he met and later married Suzan Bradsberry, his wife of 58 years.

Just out of college, Wes took a position managing the Lebec Oaks Ranch which was situated right on the top of Tejon Pass. The ranch was known for its Suffolk range rams and registered quarter horses. Wes loved the wide open spaces and mountain trails, Sue hated the isolation. After a period of time Wes applied for a job with the Department of Agriculture, writing agricultural and HUD loans in the central valley. Wes managed offices in Visalia, Oroville, and Hughson for 12 years.

He started the local 4-H Chapter in Hughson, California, was leader of the local horse project and convinced friends to lead other projects. While in Hughson he built a six horse trailer just so he could take his 4H kids packing in the Sierras. One day while home for lunch in Hughson Wes received a letter from his folks saying they were retiring and were going to sell the ranch. Wes told Sue he really wanted to go home and run the ranch, so after a lot of soul searching (and a few tears) theypacked up their two kids (Chris and Brad), two horses, a mule and a pony and a small herd of registered Shorthorns. After all, Sue felt she owed Wes for giving up his mountain wilderness job when they were first married. Once home in Loleta, again Wes established a 4-H chapter, where he led the horse, dairy, and beef projects for 14 years. He even convinced Grandpa to lead a woodworking project for a few years. Initially, Wes ran the family dairy for 12 years, but in 1987 the Milk Market crashed and Wes “put pen to paper” and said they should avail themselves of the government buyout program. Before they sold out, Wes had a plan and he talked to the IRS and then wrote up an escrow contract between the Humboldt Auction and the family for a like exchange, dairy cattle for beef cattle. Lee Mora liked the idea so well that he asked Wes if he could share the document with other folks. A generous man by nature, Wes was happy to oblige. Wes had gotten a lot of practice writing procedures for the government.

After the dairy cows were sold in 1989, Wes managed his cow/calf operation and worked with Dick Hackett to get his real estate appraiser’s license. He started out doing both home and ranch appraisals, but eventually specialized in just ranch appraising; retiring from appraising in 2017 and ranching in 2019. While ranching and appraising Wes was a director for both the Cattleman’s Association and the North Coast Land Trust. Wes was always a fierce advocate for preserving agricultural land. Wes loved hunting, fishing and horse packing both in the Sierras and locally in the Trinity Alps and in the Yolla Bollys. He also participated in 4 Levies Ride & Ties. (2 runners, 1 horse, 50 miles), once with his wife Sue, once with Helen Etter, once with his son Brad, and once with his daughter Chris. His brother Rod thought Wes was a bit crazy to rely on a horse for 50 miles; Rod’s motto is “never trust anything that doesn’t have a steering wheel and brakes. Funny, how he showed up to “Pit Crew” and Cheer.

Wes is survived by his wife Sue, his daughter Chris, and his son Brad and wife Sherry. He is also survived by his brothers Rod and Larry Anderson. He was preceded in death by his father Charles “Pat”, his mother Francise and his sister Carol.

As a husband, father and friend Wes was as solid as a rock, calm and cool under any circumstance; a presence that will be dearly missed.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

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