Faye Schwitters Anderson 10/26/1922 – 4/4/2021
An Amazing Adventurous Life
Born in Steamboat Rock, Iowa, the last of seven children of Henry and Dena Schwitters, in a loving Christian home. Her given name, Faye Lavone Schwitters. Accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord as a young girl in Vacation Bible School. Graduated from Steamboat Rock HS in 1940. Graduated with degree in Chemistry from Wheaton College 1945.
Worked 2½ years as Research Chemist at Dow Chemical in Midland MI. Decided that people were more of interest than test tubes and beakers and joined United Airlines as a Stewardess. Worked 2½ years including off-season work with Seaboard and Western, a cargo line started by WW2 Flying Tiger pilots. She worked with flights of WW2 refugees to various locations, including South America.
Living part time in Seattle as a Stewardess, she was part of a wonderful group of young Christians called The Ambassadors with friendships lasting over 50 years. Wherever she travelled in Britain and all over Europe she added more lasting friendships.
Through friends and contacts developed in Europe, she took a job as Dormitory Supervisor at an American Dependents School in Lintz am-Donau, Austria for a year. Then to Metz, France for 1½ years as a recreational director at a US Army post. In 1953 returned to US. She took some graduate studies at Univ of N Dakota.
Her next move was to New York City to teach airline stewardess classes and worked as a travel agent. She also worked as a District Director for Girl Scouts of Greater NY Area. Her parents were in a serious auto accident, and she moved to Ft Worth, TX to be near them for 2 years where she took a job as a typesetter. Next, back to NYC to work as an editor and typesetter until 2/62.
Faye was a member of the original Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in NYC. During the New York Billy Graham Crusade in 1957, Faye was a counselor. She worked at Christ's Mission, a shelter home and mission for Priests, Nuns and others who had left the Roman Catholic Church and had exchanged a works religion for a grace-based salvation.
Some teacher friends visiting her in NYC on their 3 month Summer "vacation" made her think teaching would be an ideal job. Cornell Univ was offering a quick Master's program in Education, so Faye enrolled, finished the Master's Degree, interned at Kings Ferry, NY and was scheduled to take a teaching job there.
Faye came back to Iowa 9/62 to visit her parents and a stop at Winnebago, IL to visit her brother, Dave, who convinced her to interview at the new Rockford Guilford HS. She and the head of the English Department made a quick and lasting bond, and Faye took a job teaching English at Guilford from 9/63 – 6/68.
Met Bob Anderson (Robert M) during this time through a Faith at Work group that was started in Bob's church. (The funny and strange story of the Faye and Bob romance is another chapter.) They were married 4/22/1967 at a large Ceremony at First Covenant Church in Rockford. It was her first marriage at 44 and his at 45 years.
Summer 1968 went to Western Illinois Univ for a Summer course to see if Bob would like to continue and finish his uncompleted bachelor's degree. Moved to Macomb, IL in the Fall, Faye taught at Macomb HS 2 years.
To Menomonie, WI and Stout State Univ for Bob's Master's. Back to Rockford 1971 where Faye was over-qualified for the Rockford School System, so for 2 years was able only to work in the Rockford as a substitute teacher. Fall of 1972–1974 Faye was teaching socially maladjusted students at Durand Elementary school in Durand, IL. Fall 1974–Jun 1978 taught at Alonzo Aldrich HS in Beloit, WI. Bob started teaching at Rockford Area Vocational Center.
6/78 and 12/80 Faye published a weekly TV Times magazine, sold advertising for it and did the typesetting. We invested in a Real Estate company and Faye became a licensed Realtor. We bought and managed a few apartment buildings. It was in this time period we built a "spec" house in Roscoe, IL and lost $89,000 due to high loan interest rates and a collapsed real estate market. Faye also managed a Laundromat for a while.
1984 – 87 Bob saw an ad and alerted Faye for a typesetting job at Johnson Press. This proved to be a godsend as they let her work all the overtime she wanted, sometimes 80 hours a week. By the time we left for China we were totally debt-free.
Both Faye and Bob had a desire to be in a career more centered on spreading the Gospel and searched in several organizations. This all led to taking a job in China under an organization called Mission to Unreached Peoples.
Spring 1988 Trip to Israel. Fall 1988 To China.
9/88 – 6/91 Teaching English as Second Language (TESL) at Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China.
Most of late 1991 through fall 1962 in Sidney, MT with sister Rudy. Substitute teaching in Sidney H S and worked with a cleaning maintenance service. Working with United Nations Volunteer Service for job.
10/92 – 6/95 United Nations Volunteer teaching English at Central University for Nationalities in Beijing P R C. We were always still with Mission to Unreached Peoples.
10/95 – 5/96 Taught English to employees of CATIC – China Aviation/Aeronautic Technical Institute China. Only one semester as management was concerned about Faye's age (73) and health.
5/96 – 10/96 Worked for China Central Television as an English polisher for English news division. Lived at the Friendship Hotel apartments. Did some English teaching and report editing for the World Bank.
10/96 - 5/99 Back to CATIC to teach English at the insistence of Mrs Li and Mrs Chen; Supervisors. The English program was discontinued in 1999.
Fall 1999 Buying and remodeling apartment in XingYunDian, Daxing County, Beijing to work at New Day Creations Art Crafts factory we had invested in to work with Robin & Joyce Hill who were starting an Orphanage for children with medical needs.
2000 - 2007 Did some publicity work for New Day and reached out to community to teach English to local schoolteachers and in a neighboring village. Wrote some American culture articles for Beijing Youth Daily. They installed a special phone line in our apartment. The public could call to talk to a native American English speaker. Faye even read Bible stories. New Day started an English Language School and Faye taught again full time.
2007 - 2008 Final teaching job was teaching English to a delightful group of young women at a zip-lock plastic bag factory in our village.
Jan 2009 Return to Rockford, bought our house in Oak Crest, Loves Park near Rock Cut Forest Preserve to finally retire.
2010 - 2019 Keeping busy doing a lot of designated driver work for "old" people no longer able to drive and always helping others.
Hundreds of Bibles distributed. Thousands of seeds planted. Much watering of seeds planted by others, Visible sprouting and fruit appearing. Some ministries still spreading the Word. This is a big part of the Faye Anderson Legacy.

This timeline was written by RMA using a jobs list written by Faye in 2019 and a lot of additional memories of her activities. Dates and sequences may have some errors.


Faye S. Anderson, 98, of Rockford went to be her Lord and Savior on April 4, 2021. Born on October 26, 1922 in Steamboat Rock, IA; daughter of Henry and Dena (Ahlfs) Schwitters. Faye was the youngest of seven siblings, and the last of the family to die. She is survived by her husband, Robert M, a son, John Paul (Kris) Sunderland and family; as well as numerous Chinese former students, who became like children. Faye was a member of First Free Evangelical Free Church. Faye lived a beautiful, adventurous life dedicated in service to others. Her Motto; "Is there anything I can do to help?"
She earned a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry from Wheaton College in 1945 and a Masters in Education from Cornell University in 1962. She worked at Dow Chemical, United Airlines as a stewardess, Dorm Supervisor in Linz Austria, Recreation Director at a U. S. Army Base in Metz, France. When she relocated to New York City, she was a trainer of Airline Stewardesses, a Travel Agent, and District Director of Girl Scouts of America of Greater New York. She had numerous jobs doing typesetting and editing.
In 1962 she was scheduled to teach at Kings Ferry, NY. Faye visited her parents in Iowa and brother in Winnebago who suggested she apply for a job at the new Guilford High School. Faye taught English at Guilford four years. During this time she met Bob Anderson. They were united in marriage on April 22, 1967 in Rockford.
Faye taught at Macomb High School while Bob attended Western Illinois University. She took many education courses at Eau Claire University while Bob attended Stout State. In 1971 she returned to Rockford and taught at Durand Elementary School, later moving to Aldridge High School in Beloit. She worked many years as a typesetter in Rockford.
Always involved in Christian organizations, Faye enthusiastically took a job through Mission to Unreached Peoples to teach English in China. In 1988 at age 65 she started at Xiamen University. Four years later she took a job as a United Nations Volunteer teaching English at Central University for Nationalities in Beijing. Many jobs in teaching followed that assignment and 14 years later she returned to settle in Loves Park, where she spent her last years. Her motto to the last; "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Memorial Visitation on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 10:15 a.m. at First Evangelical Free Church, 2223 N. Mulford Rd. Rockford, followed by a Celebration of Faye's beautiful life at 11:00 a.m. Pastor Chuck Rife will officiate. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Rockford Chinese Church Christian Building Fund or Bob Fu, China Aid, Midland, TX.
Grace Funeral & Cremation Services assisted the family. Share a memory or condolence at www.graceFH.com .