Obituary: Anda, Richard David “Rick”
Age 62
Rick was born in Seattle, WA on April 9, 1951 to Leonard and Evelyn.
After graduating from Bothell High School in 1969 he went on to earn his accounting degree from Washington State University.
After college, he moved to Bellingham where he met his wife of almost 38 years Irene Hawley.
They spent 20 years in Bellingham raising their children, Charlotte (Justin) Finnegan, Jeannette (Matt) Ring, and Pete (Vanessa) Anda.
Rick owned an accounting practice in Bellingham, where he was quite passionate about helping people with their small businesses and taxes.
While in Bellingham he was a longtime member and treasurer of the Bellingham Central Lions Club, served many years as the treasurer at First Presbyterian Church, served as Scoutmaster of Pete’s Boy Scout troupe, and coached his daughter’s soccer teams.
He spent as much time as he could at the family cabin on Orcas Island where he loved to go crabbing, tool around in his boat, and spend time with his family.
In 1999 Rick and Irene decided to live full time on Orcas Island.
On Orcas, Rick continued his accounting practice; however, he quickly discovered his true calling was to serve his community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.
He later joined the WA., State Incident Management team as a firefighter and a financial advisor.
Rick loved his time with the fire department and with great passion could tell you about every fire on the island during his time there.
He was named Firefighter of the Year in 2002, became Lieutenant of the Doe Bay Fire Station in 2005 and later became Captain of the East Side of Orcas Island.
He was named Patriot of the Year in the Doe Bay Community in 2008.
He also served the Orcas community as treasurer and president of the Lions Club and as the Treasurer for the Fire District.
The last few years of Rick’s life were spent in Spokane so he could be close to his grandchildren: Charlie, Caden, Annie, Royal and Dutch.
He enjoyed taking them camping, watching Cougar football, and watching them participate in their various sports and activities.
Everyone who knew Rick was aware of his Cougar pride, his love of his family and his enjoyment of dutch oven cooking.
The family would like to thank the caring staff at Rockwood Oncology and Hospice of Spokane for their loving care of Rick.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Orcas Island Lion’s Club or the Orcas Island Volunteer Firefighters Association.
“A memorial Service will be held at the Salvation Army Chapel (222 E. Indiana, Spokane, WA)