Obituary of Peter Anderson

Peter Anderson passed away peacefully at Guelph General Hospital after a short illness, at the age of 94. 

Peter (Panagiotis Savidis) was born in Piarreaus, Greece on January 15, 1930, and immigrated to Canada in 1949.  He met the love of his life, Audrey Isabel Anderson (Quirk) and raised their two children, Rob (Andrea) and Gayle Labuz (Alex) in Guelph.  Peter and Audrey had a long, loving marriage of 67 years until Audrey’s death in 2022.  Peter was a proud, loving grandfather to Liam and Quinn Anderson and Emma Labuz.

Peter’s life was one of passion and adventure.  He pursued all his interests with zest, rarely taking “no” for an answer.  As a youngster in Greece, he loved riding in bicycle races.  He proudly displayed his trophies and medal from that time.

As a young immigrant he learned English when he arrived in Canada and took business classes which helped him excel in his career.  He became a union leader at Canada Wire, then a Works Manager at Pirelli Wire and Cable, Production Manager at Accuflex Industrial Hose and Vice President at Plastoflex Hose.

He was an avid golfer and proudly held a membership at Guelph’s Cutten Fields for over 50 years. “Cutten’s” was one of his favourite places in Guelph, where he enjoyed more rounds of golf than we can count, accomplished a hole-in-one and made many friends. 

Peter was well known in Guelph for his love of the city.  He was instrumental in having the John Galt Statue erected in front of City Hall and played a leading role in renaming the August Civic Holiday to John Galt Day in the city of Guelph.

Peter’s zest for adventure really came to life after he retired, when he converted a cargo van to an RV and proceeded to travel around the world. His travels took him to every continent, 66 countries and added 220,000 kilometers to his van – an amazing accomplishment in a time before mobile phones, the Internet and GPS were household tools.  Following his trip around the world, Peter wrote a book about his travels and happily presented slides of his adventures at numerous gatherings.

Peter’s goal was always to see this world before he moved on to the next.  He accomplished his goal to its fullest, in a way that most of us could only imagine.

Peter’s family thanks the nurses and doctors at Guelph General Hospital for their kindness and respect for Peter.

They also thank the wonderful staff and residents at Riverside Glen Retirement Home, where Peter enjoyed his cozy room and the company of “the guys” at his dining table.

If desired, memorial contributions to Trinity United Church, Alzheimer Society or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated.

The Anderson family will receive relatives and friends at the Brombal Funeral Home, One Delhi Street, Guelph on Thursday, January 9, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Funeral Service will follow in the Chapel of the Funeral Home on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.. Interment will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Park.