ELISABETH KEHRER ANDERSON

Dr. Elisabeth “Betty” K. Anderson was born on July 31, 1925 in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the daughter of Robert Ewald and Oriole (Johnston) Kehrer. She earned a B.A. degree from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1946 and her medical degree from there in 1949. She interned at The Queen’s Hospital, Honolulu, 1949-50 and was a resident there 1950-51. She decided to go into public health administration rather than private practice. She was Director of Research, Pacific Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Honolulu, 1960-69; Assistant to the President, Hawaii Medical Association, 1972-75; Chief, Medical Health Services Division, Hawaii Department of Health, 1980-87 and Chief of the Health Quality Assurance Division there. She earned her M.P.H. degree from the University of Hawaii in 1971. She retired at the end of 1993.

Dr. Anderson was a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine, American Public Health Association, American Medical Association, Hawaii Medical Association, Honolulu County Medical Society, Sierra Club, Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Outdoor Circle, Hawaii Botanical Society, Punahou Tennis Club, Trail and Mountain Club, Outrigger Canoe Club and the Pacific Club. She loved flowers and they inspired her to draw and paint them from an early age. She served as a trustee and the secretary of the Board of Trustees of Hawaii Loa College in the 1960s and ‘70s. In 1986 Dr Anderson established the TWIGMIE (To Whom Is Given Much Is Expected) Scholarship fund at Hawaii Loa College (Hawaii Pacific University) in honor of her sister-in-law, Jean Mercer Anderson..

Dr. Anderson married Page Morris Anderson on January 6, 1951 at St. Andrews Cathedral, Honolulu. They were the parents of three children: Bruce Statham, Catherine Mercer and Mary Elisabeth. Dr. Anderson had Parkinson’s disease for the ten years before her death. She died on June 7, 2004 at the age of 78.

First posted April 2006.

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