Frank N. Andersen Foundation

Frank N. Andersen was born in Dresden, New York to parents who immigrated from Denmark. He attended school for a few years in a country schoolhouse, and then advanced his education with correspondence courses and a year-and-a-half at Yale. He arrived in Saginaw in 1923 where he was employed by Consumers Power (now Consumers Energy).
Frank started Andersen Sand & Gravel in 1929, launching a successful career as an entrepreneur. He married Lucille E. Lee, a nurse, in 1948.

Frank was passionate about giving to his community and making life better for his fellow citizens. He remains one of our region’s best-known philanthropists. When Frank passed away at age 108 in 1997, he left his estate in a charitable foundation to continue helping others and enriching his community. The trustees of the Andersen Foundation created The Frank N. Andersen Scholarship fund at SVSU. In addition to the scholarship, some of the places and people touched by Frank’s legacy of generosity include: Frank N. Andersen Regional Eye Institute, Andersen Enrichment Center, Lucille E. Andersen Rose Garden, Pioneer Hall (SVSU), Andersen Nursing Education Scholarship, sculptures for the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum (SVSU), Andersen Water Park, Andersen Park Foundation and acreage for a DNR wild fowl preserve, the chapel at Boy Scouts’ Camp Rotary, and grants for Programs in SVSU’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences.