Sherman Carroll Anderson

Sherman Carroll Anderson, Jr. , 82, of Mountain View, A.R., went home to be with his Savior on April 22, 2023. He passed peacefully in hospice care at The Blossoms in Mountain View following a valiant year-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Sherm was born in Albuquerque, N.M. on November 21, 1940. He graduated from Valley High School in 1958 and received a Bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from Denver University and later, an MBA. His career led him to managing several restaurants in Albuquerque, including the Alvarado Hotel Fred Harvey restaurant and Sherm’s Coffee Shop, one of his father’s restaurants. His career included managing the flight food service for Continental Airlines, which led to him to acquire certification as an air traffic controller. Over time he became interested in working with wood. After moving to Mountain View, A.R., he became an expert in tree surgery and working with exotic woods. Growing up he was a member of First United Methodist Church of Albuquerque.

Sherman is preceded in death by his parents, Sudie Elizabeth Anderson and Sherman C. Anderson, Sr. He is survived by sisters Susan Wasson (Don), Kristy Anderson (Roger) and Amy Leischman (Don). Nieces Karen Wasson, Maggie Leischman, and nephews Taylor Leischman and Pepper Fajans.

Sherm leaves behind a legacy of community involvement: volunteerism with the Friends of the Library at Stone County Library, with Royal Family Kid's Camp, and with many activities as a member at First United Methodist Church of Mountain View. He is remembered as a local arborist with his tree service company, Best Tree Service. Sherman knew his trees well and loved woodworking.

He was a member of the North Central Arkansas Woodturners and active in the group mainly as a craft demonstrator and newsletter editor. He was most famous for his handcrafted wooden spinning tops,  antique toys he particularly enjoyed introducing to modern children and adults who were unfamiliar with these historic amusements, first as a craft demonstrator at The Ozark Folk Center demonstrating a foot-driven lathe and then as a solo crafter. Known to many as Tree Top Guy, he was a member of the Calico Rock Artisan Coop from 2015, where his handmade tops were for sale in the Artisan Gift Shop in the Calico Rock Museum, as well as at several venues around Mountain View.

It was his love of tops and kids and the Lord that led him to work with Royal Family Kids Camp, a summer camp mission for foster children. Sherman devoted time each summer to help with camp operations and to work with the children, demonstrating his tops and mentoring as he could. He believed strongly that Royal Family Kids was important to improving the lives of marginalized children in the foster care program here in Arkansas during the six years he was involved with this Christian mission. He touched the lives of hundreds of kids with his witness.

As a member of the Friends of the Stone County Library, he was instrumental in setting up for their monthly sales, and did much of the organizational work to make each sale go smoothly. A member of many years at First United Methodist of Mountain View, he was active in the men of the church and in the choir. He was active with the after school children's program, Kids Club, where he continued his demonstrations of his tops as entertainment.

Sherm’s family would like to thank Robert and Fletcher Shipp and Chuck and Karen Daniels for their kind and generous friendship and support to Sherm, especially over the last year of his life. If you would like, his family invites you to plant a tree in his honor. 

A celebration of life service is planned for Sunday, May 7, at 2 pm at the main sanctuary of First United Methodist Church , Mountain View, A.R. , 116 E. Jefferson Street.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sherman Carroll Anderson, please visit our floral store.