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Obituaries

Family Remembers Moorpark Business Man as 'Living Legend'

Steven Anderson, owner and president of Moorpark RV and Storage, died Feb. 3.

Steven Anderson, owner and president of Moorpark RV and Storage, died Feb. 3 at age 70.

Anderson was hit by an automobile Feb. 1 as he tried to cross Spring Road just south of Los Angeles Avenue. The driver, Lisa Fuentes, 50, of Moorpark was turning south on Spring Road from the Moorpark Plaza when she collided with Anderson. He was transported to Los Robles Medical Center and died two days later.

Anderson, who lived in Thousand Oaks, was a longtime business owner in the Thousand Oaks and Moorpark area. He was co-founder of A-C Construction, a multimillion dollar company which worked on projects throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and Texas. In 1995, he moved out of construction and founded Moorpark RV and Storage on 4875 Spring Road in Moorpark.

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Anderson is remembered by his family as a hardworking man who loved history, boxing, trains, and many other subjects.

His family has many fond memories of him.

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For instance, his grandson, Brendon, remembered Anderson’s love for boxing.

“My grandfather was an avid boxing fan,” said Brendon, “and he was a close friend with the guy who owns a gym in Simi Valley called Kid Gloves boxing. He got me ten boxing lessons. We picked him up a couple of times and we’d go to the gym and he’d watch me during the lesson. I remember that during the second lesson, he picked up some gloves and started hitting the body bag. Just to see his face, his smile and energy over being in the gym, was really cool to see.”

His oldest son, Victor, remembered his father as an avid outdoorsman. On one of their family trips, he recalled an adventure that changed both of their lives.

“We went to the Cayman Islands when I was 16 (I think somewhere around 1980), and we took a resort course in scuba diving,” said Victor. “We went diving in a ship wreck and his tank got stuck. I pushed him down and helped him get loose. When we came up, he thanked me for saving his life. That trip just gave me a passion for diving. I now have over 4,000 dives and have been involved for years in underwater search and rescue.”

Victor also remembered one of their trips to Norway. His father, who rarely had a chance to see him play football, finally got the chance to watch his son play quarterback.

“In 1989 we went to Norway together,” he said. “We happened to be in this place called Vigeland Park. It was a beautiful afternoon. There were these kids playing football and one of them came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play. They had me playing quarterback on both of these teams and we played for about an hour. My dad was real proud of me. It was a good memory.”

Anderson’s youngest son, Stephen Jr., remembered his father’s love for trains.

“In 1997 we took a train trip to Seattle,” said Stephen. “It’s called the Coast Starlight. He had a real passion for trains. It was our first opportunity to bond over the father-son relationship. He always had a tough exterior, but I remember that we went to the movies in Seattle and saw Titanic. I realized afterward that he really loved it. It made me realize that he really had a soft side that most people didn’t see.”

Victor described his father as having a magnetic personality, especially when he was on a site working or regaling someone with his stories.

“I worked with him in construction,” he said. “My dad reminds me of a general. He reminds me of Patton. When you saw him out on the job site, he took command of that job site. My dad loved being in the middle of everything.”

“He had this energy,” said Brendon, “where if you walked into the restaurant, you felt that he was there. When he spoke, everyone listened. He had this great presence about him. He was the alpha dog.”

Stephen Jr. agreed.

“He was very much like a family patriarch,” he said. “He would be the one at the end of the table at Christmas and everyone would jockey to get that recognition. He was the leader of the pack, not just for his family, but also for his coworkers.”

For his family, Anderson was a man who stood out as larger than life.

“He was my hero growing up,” said Victor, “and then only as I got older, I realized that heroes had a lot of flaws. But when I was young, he walked on water for me.”

“He was very much a living legend,” said Stephen. “All the stories he told, you really couldn’t tell if it was fact or fiction. It translated to his business life and family life.”

“It was like the movie “Big Fish,” said Brendon. “Some things you would wonder if what he told was true. Then you would talk to other people and find out that, yeah, they were true.”

Anderson is survived by his wife, Banny, as well as Victor and Joanne from Oak Park, Stephen in New York, and Brendon in Los Angeles.

He was a member of the Sons of Norway. As a native New Englander, he still had a home in New Hampshire and remained a lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. He was a supporter of the VFW and a member of the American Legion.

His grandson summed up the feelings of his family and friends with this simple statement:

“He’ll really be missed,” said Brendon.

Those who are so inclined may make a donation to one of his favorite organizations, Kids’ Gloves, located at 1663 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, California

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