A Remembrance of Robert V. Andelson
1931 - 2003

Nadine Stoner

[Reprinted from GroundSwell, 2003]

Robert V. Andelson, Ph.D., died unexpectedly November 8, 2003. He was at the East Alabama Medical Center recuperating from minor surgery, when he suffered a fatal stroke. He had been a resident of Auburn, AL since 1965 and a member of the Graduate School Faculty of Auburn University since 1969. He was named Professor Emeritus in 1992. A memorial service was held November 15 at the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, with Dr. Frank Covington and Dr. James Dawsey officiating. Andelson was co-author with Dr. Dawsey of "From Wasteland to Promised Land: Liberation Theology for a Post Marxist World".* Andelson was also author or editor of "Imputed Rights," "Commons Without Tragedy,"* "Critics of Henry George," "Henry George and the Reconstruction of Capitalism,"* "Land Value Taxation Around the World, 2nd edition", and "Land Value Taxation Around the World, 3rd edition" (AJES). From 1979 in San Francisco (International conference) through 2001 in Pittsburgh, Andelson attended most of the annual Georgist conferences, frequently with his wife Bonny accompanying him. He often was a presenter on the program. Presentations published in GroundSwell include "Jubilee 2000: Is it Really Biblical?" (Nov.-Dec. 2000), "Land Value Taxation Around the World, 2nd edition" (Nov.-Dec. 1998), and "Ecology's Contribution to Ethics" (Jan-Feb. 1997).

Robert Andelson was born Feb. 19, 1931 in Los Angeles. In his "Jubilee 2000" presentation, Andelson shared some personal information. His father had been a successful businessman in Madison, WI, but, because of circumstances for which he was not responsibile, went bankrupt. His mother had been the head buyer of women's ready-to-wear at the main department store in the city. With the depression in full swing, the family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother's family lived. After an auto accident there, his father died when Robert was barely 3 years old. His mother supported the family as a seamstress, and after a decade had saved enough money to enable her, in partnership with a cousin, to purchase a small dress shop on Hollywood Blvd., which she operated for 27 years. By the time Robert was in high school she had paid back every cent his father had owed, even though his debts were not legally collectable and his creditors had long since written them off.

Andelson received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and was an ordained minister in the Congregational Christian Church. He taught government, philosophy and religion at colleges in Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Calfornia before moving to Alabama. Andelson was listed in "Who's Who in America, Dictionary of International Biography, and The Writer Directory. He was a member and past V.P. of the Board of Directors of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, was a Distinguished Research Fellow and member of the Editorial Board of the American Institute for Economic Research, and was past president and a member of the Exec. Com. of the International Union for Land Value Taxation. He also was a long-time member of Common Ground-USA.

Andelson is survived by his wife, Bonny of Auburn, AL, cousins and nieces and nephews.