Fr. David J. Anderson, SJ, former campus minister and alumni chaplain at Seattle University, died unexpectedly in Spokane, Washington, on September 5, 2025. He was 61 years old.
He was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 20, 1964, one of five boys born to Edmund Anderson, a banker, and Marilyn Rae Gorman Anderson, a homemaker. After graduating from Gonzaga University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and religious studies, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Portland, Oregon, to begin studies for the priesthood. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Gonzaga and taught religion and coached cross country at Gonzaga Prep from 1990 to 1993, before beginning theology studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. He was ordained a priest in St. Aloysius Church, Spokane on June 7, 1997.
He spent a year as parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s Church in Seattle, before taking up pastoral work on Nelson Island in southwestern Alaska, where he served the Yup’ik villages of Toksook Bay, Tununak and Nightmute (1998-2006). From 2000 to 2006, he also assisted in the diocesan ministry training program, preparing Native men for ordination to the permanent diaconate. He had a love for the outdoors from his youth, and he regularly accompanied the villagers on hunting trips to supply food for their families.
He returned to Washington in 2006 and served a year as pastoral minister at St. Leo’s Church in Tacoma before moving to Seatle University, where he worked as campus minister, director of Ignatian retreats and, from 2009 to 2024, as alumni chaplain. He was an avid supporter of the university sports programs and could be seen courtside with the teams. His most recent assignment was as retreat director at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center, Spokane.
Fr. Anderson is survived by bis brothers, Tim, Tom, Todd and Shawn.
Funeral Mass
Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 10 a.m.
St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Church
330 E. Boone Ave
Spokane, WA. 99202
Memorial Mass in Seattle
Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 7 p.m.
St. Ignatius Chapel (Seattle University)
901 12th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122
Donations in memory of Fr. Anderson may be made to the Jesuits West Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031, or to a charity of your choosing.