Mrs. Maureen Anderson
November 6, 2024
-by April MacDonald
She still finds it hard to speak about learning the tragic news of her sons’ eventual passings, and she focusses instead on who they were as two special people, now residing firmly in her heart.
On November 1st, the Royal Canadian Legion named Maureen Anderson of Oromocto, New Brunswick, as this year’s National Silver Cross Mother.
Maureen will symbolize all Silver Cross Mothers when she places a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Remembrance Day.
The Oran was notified by local teacher, Charlene MacKinnon, that this year’s Silver Cross Mother has close ties to Inverness.
Anderson’s family had a summer home up at Port Ban and her two boys, Sgt. Ron Anderson and Sgt. Ryan Anderson, would spend time around Inverness throughout the year.
“We honour Maureen and her family’s tremendous sacrifice,” says Berkley Lawrence, Dominion president.
“Her presence comforts all Silver Cross Mothers and families, her strength gives us all strength to accept her great loss, and her story reminds us to never forget.”
Anderson’s two sons, Ron and Ryan, were both members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and both were army sergeants.
Ron Anderson served on several tours of duty overseas, twice in Afghanistan. On one of those missions, he jumped into action under dangerous circumstances to save the life of a child. Upon his return from that country, however, he was never the same, and later took his own life. Sgt. Ryan Anderson also served on tours of duty overseas, once in Afghanistan and alongside his brother. He too, became a different person and later passed away.
The National Silver Cross Mother acts on behalf of all Canadian mothers and families who have lost a son or daughter in the line of service. From November 1st, 2024, to October 31st, 2025, Anderson will be part of several events honouring Canada’s fallen.
The Memorial Cross – more commonly referred to as the Silver Cross – was introduced on December 1st, 1919. It is a symbol of personal loss and sacrifice on behalf of widows and mothers who lose a child on active duty, or whose death is later attributed to such duty.
The Royal Canadian Legion receives nominations for the National Silver Cross Mother role from Provincial Commands and individual Canadians each year. The final recipient is chosen by a Dominion Command selection committee.
The Silver Cross was first authorized as a memento of personal loss and sacrifice on the part of widows and mothers of Canadian sailors, aviators, and soldiers who died for their country during the war.
Today, the National Silver Cross Mother is chosen by the Legion among nominations made by Legion Provincial Commands and individuals to represent the mothers of Canada at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa. During her tenure, which started on November 1st, the National Silver Cross Mother fulfills other official functions.
As the National Silver Cross Mother, Anderson places a wreath at the National War Memorial on November 11th on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost a son or a daughter in the military service of Canada. Throughout the year, until October, 2025, she will also be called upon to perform other duties honouring the fallen from all conflicts.
About Maureen Anderson:
She had always wanted to be a nurse. After graduating from Millerton High School in New Brunswick, she attended what was then the Moncton Technical Institute and graduated as a registered nursing assistant – now often called a licensed practical nurse. She stayed in New Brunswick at first, working in Moncton and then Bathurst.
“I loved it!” she recalls.
That profession would later take her to Ottawa, Ontario, after she noticed an ad in a newspaper looking for people to join the The Royal Canadian Air Force. It piqued her interest, and she answered that call, working at the National Defence Medical Centre and living at the former CFB Rockcliffe.
One of her patients turned out to be her late husband Peter Anderson – an army veteran who began as a member of the former Regiment of Canadian Guards on Parliament Hill, and then joined the Royal Canadian Regiment. He later became a sergeant major and retired as a master warrant officer. When the two married, Maureen recounts how she had to step down from her job with the air force – though she didn’t want to – because of the working regulations at the time.
Peter was stationed in several locations over the years; so, their family moved a lot, living in Baden-Baden Germany, Yellowknife NWT, Petawawa, and Pembroke ON, and in Oromocto. She and her husband raised two children: Ron and his younger brother Ryan. The boys were born five years apart and both would grow up to follow in their father’s footsteps, joining the military as soon as they could, even before finishing high school.
“They knew what they wanted,” she says.
While they fought regularly as youngsters, the two boys were close. They were very good buddies right up until the end, she recalls.
She describes how difficult it was to retire from the work she loved at the age of 68. It followed several months after her first son’s passing, and she had other health challenges, so had to step away. But she’s also an experienced seamstress, who did a lot of sewing and knitting over the years – making cardigans and clothes for her sons, and uniforms for herself. She loves to bake; always happy to make sweets and squares for church functions.
She feels being named Canada’s National Silver Cross Mother is a great honour and says, “it brings back a lot of memories of loss, especially if you’ve lost kids of your own.”
She plans to spend time speaking to other military mothers and families who have lost children, particularly to PTSD.
“It (PTSD) is rampant, and it’s a shame,” she says.
A couple of her sons’ friends and comrades who live with the condition, still stop by to visit her regularly to this day.
Sgt. Ron Anderson:
Sergeant Ron Anderson was a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment. He served in locations including Petawawa, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and had two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
Born on May 27th, 1974, in Lahr, Germany, the country where his parents were living at the time, Ron knew what he wanted to do from an early age. A very active and energetic youngster, one precursor to his later desire to enlist was a favourite pastime he shared with his younger brother Ryan. “As kids, they played war games,” she recalls. Ron began in cadets, then joined the militia in Nova Scotia, and later trained in Gagetown, New Brunswick, becoming a member of The Canadian Army.
While her sons rarely spoke of their roles and actions in the forces, including when they served overseas, they were clearly affected by their experiences. She believes an accumulation of tragic experiences overseas led to Ron taking his own life in 2014. Upon his return from his second tour in Afghanistan, she says he had changed. He wanted to be alone. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
One bright memory Maureen shares is how Ron had been awarded a commendation for having saved the life of an injured little boy while in Afghanistan, and under deadly circumstances.
“He performed First Aid, and I guess he was surrounded by Afghans with all these guns pointed at him,” she recounts. His actions in the face of danger that day don’t surprise her.
“That would be him,” she says. “He was a rough, tough guy, that wouldn’t bother him.”
But Ron never told his parents he had received the award, she learned of it only after his passing.
“He was very proud, he did not want any scene, any big fanfare,” she says.
She and her late husband later received the certificate that came with his commendation and hung it with pride in their home.
Ron had four children at the time of his passing. His son Bryce is now serving with The Canadian Army.
Sgt. Ryan Anderson:
Sergeant Ryan Anderson was a member of The Royal Canadian Regiment. He served in Gagetown and Yellowknife and in various places overseas such as Bosnia, Ethiopia, Haiti, and also in Afghanistan alongside his older brother Ron.
Born on February 19th, 1979, in Oromocto, New Brunswick, and just about as active as his brother, Ryan was into martial arts. He trained in Taekwondo and Karate, and he did well, says his mother. He also knew at an early age what he wanted to do. He joined the militia in Nova Scotia as soon as he could, then trained in Gagetown, New Brunswick, becoming a member of The Canadian Army.
Maureen describes how both her sons’ personalities changed upon their return from Afghanistan. They were not as jubilant, funny, or happy like they used to be. They were kind of “quiet” and she noticed Ryan’s mental health deteriorated faster, with his condition also affecting other parts of his life. He, too, was diagnosed with PTSD.
She remembers the effects of PTSD well, and how Ryan, who lived in the same complex, would sometimes call her for a visit in the middle of the night. She always said yes.
“And I would get out of bed and go over to his apartment and get some coffees and just sit with him and listen to him.”
Sometimes they would just watch music videos.
“Sometimes he would cry and I’d say ‘what’s wrong’ and he would say ‘I don’t know’… I don’t regret that, thankfully I did that,” she says.
Maureen relates how Ryan’s health took another downturn fairly quickly after his brother’s passing, and he grew more isolated as well. He passed away in 2017. Both Ryan and his brother had been receiving help for their PTSD conditions before they passed.
Ryan had two children at the time of his passing.
.
