He was raised in East Tennessee and attended VPI (now known as VaTech) for one year before his appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1940. He married his high school sweetheart, Eloise Wyman, on August 9, 1941. During the early war years, he was a gunnery officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger in the Atlantic, and on the cruiser USS Denver in the South Pacific. He received his wings as a naval aviator in late 1944 in Pensacola, FL where his first son John was born. He was in charge of Navy Search and Rescue operations in Hawai'i in 1946 when the April Fool's Day tsunami struck the islands. Duty then took him to a squadron at Whidbey Island, WA where a second son Robert was born, and next to the USNA in Annapolis, MD where a third son, David, was born. Other duty stops included Guam, Corpus Christi, TX, back to Whidbey, Alaska, Kwajalein, Coronado, CA, Washington, D.C., Pensacola, FL, Sicily and Norfolk, VA, where he retired in 1970. After moving back to Bristol, he put his M.Ed. to work as Director of Admissions for King College. He and Eloise eventually moved to Hawai'i in 1976. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church, but as he told the story, it was an Episcopal priest who taught him the game of tennis in Bristol, and brought him into that tradition. He was an avid tennis player and golfer all his life, and he had a pronounced sweet tooth. He loved Danish pastries and guava jelly, made great mai tais, and was happiest behind the wheel with his family in tow.

A devoted husband and father, he is survived by three sons, John H., IV (Honora), of Denver, CO, Robert D. (Nancy), of Silver Spring, MD, and David B. (Lucille), of Aiea, two grandsons, John H., V (Kate Stoll), of Seattle, WA, and Bryan C. of Hermosa Beach, CA, three hanai granddaughters, Amy (Terry Yonashiro), Patti (Craig Nagami), and Lisa Tamura, and six hanai greatgrandchildren, Ryan, Brandyn, Loren, Brent, Trevor, and Jaycie. He was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Eloise Wyman, and by two brothers, Joseph Anderson, Jr., and Craig Hawley.