Christopher "Kit" Anderson
April 18, 1975 ~ August 9, 2024
Born in:
Pittsburgh , PA
Resided in:
Huntington, WV
CHRISTOPHER “KIT” ANDERSON, devoted husband and father, philosophical, curious, contrarian — a polymath whose varied interests and talents made him a true Renaissance man.
He lived and loved beautifully, and died in Huntington, WV, on August 9, 2024 after battling cancer. He was 49. Born on April 18, 1975, in Pittsburgh, PA, on the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere’s Ride, Kit grew up in Weirton, WV, in the shadow of the steel mills. He was a proud 1993 graduate of Brooke High School, where he excelled and cheerfully participated in chemistry Olympics, football, basketball, and Latin Club.
Kit attended Brown University in Providence, RI, graduating in 1997 with a mechanical engineering degree. He independently decided in his senior year to learn German and move alone to Germany, and spent most of 1997 learning the language in a variety of locations. He had his first job interview in German in October and began an internship at ZF Friedrichshafen, home of the Zeppelin. After the internship, Kit moved to Spartanburg, SC, and worked for an exhaust supplier to BMW.
His culture shock moving back to the US led him to learn more about urban land use. While in SC, he both bought and wrecked a Honda Nighthawk 750 motorcycle. Continuing his stochastic pattern of life choices, Kit enrolled in law school at Indiana University in Bloomington. He eschewed the standard practice of summer internships at Toney Law Firms, instead attending conferences about how to build better communities – once driving from IN to Los Angeles to do so.
During law school, he reconnected with Mary Beth, the love of his life he first met in high school. After graduating, he passed the Pennsylvania Bar, started work at Pepper Hamilton, and successfully convinced Mary Beth to move north to Philadelphia – a true showcase of his persuasive negotiating skills. They married in 2006 in Philly. In 2008, they moved to Huntington and had 2 children, William and Sally. Kit worked in a variety of roles, including Public Works Director, Director of the Sanitary Board, and Administrator of Marshall Pediatrics.
These positions allowed him to apply his diverse skills to public service and healthcare. It was his deep interest in education that led him to homeschool his children and expose them to the myriad ways of living and learning. On the playground, in the classroom, and as a soccer and basketball coach, he was committed to giving his children the freedom to reach and grow and find their own limits, showing restraint and support to let them struggle and build resilience, and sharing the joy of their successes. Kit loved to travel and explore the world. He played basketball throughout his life. He was a voracious reader and devotee of both independent and used bookstores, amassing a huge and diverse library. Kit was genuinely interested in people, and extraordinarily good at staying in touch. His sense of humor lives on in his daughter. His exceptional storytelling lives on in his son. He was known for being kind, smart, clever, adventurous, and real. There were no boundaries to his interests and where they would take him.
He is preceded in death by his father, Bill Anderson.
He is survived by his mother, Jane Anderson; wife Mary Beth Anderson; children William and Sally Anderson; aunt Nancy Wilson; and aunt and uncle Donna and Tom Durkin. Visitation will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday August 14, followed by a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. at the church. Inurnment will follow at Spring Hill Cemetery, Huntington.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hospice of Huntington (www.hospiceofhuntington.org/donate/) or Houston Haven (www.houstonhaven.com/support-
us).
Family Guestbook at www.klingelcarpenter.com.
During the 1992 WV State high school football championship, Kit was playing tight end for Brooke when he had the rare distinction of sidelining future NFL Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, with a stinger. Dupont HS, however, won the game.
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