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Slain soldier leaves student college money
©Associated Press FORT MYERS -- An Army Ranger killed last month in Afghanistan designated a portion of his life insurance to pay the college tuition for a former student he considered exceptional. The unidentified student only recently learned of the benefit left her by Marc A. Anderson, a 30-year-old former junior high math teacher who left the profession to join the Army. "He said it was someone he thought was really worthy and he wanted to make sure she could go to college," said Anderson's mother, Judith Anderson, who lives in Jacksonville. Anderson was among seven U.S. servicemen who died in the mountains of Afghanistan on March 4. He was killed during a nine-hour firefight trying to rescue a Navy SEAL. The student, a senior, has been accepted to the University of Florida's architectural engineering school. Marc Anderson graduated from the rival school, Florida State University. "As much as he would hassle her about being a Gator, he'd also be very proud of her," joked his brother, Stephen Anderson, 35, of St. Petersburg. On Saturday, friends, former co-workers and students will honor Anderson, who taught at Fort Myers Middle School Academy, at a school memorial service. He left teaching about four years ago, hoping the stint in the Army would also help him pay off his student loans. He died just months shy of leaving the Army. "Even in his death, Marc wanted to make sure students were focusing on higher education," Stephen Anderson said. David Childress, one of Anderson's best friends and a former co-worker, helped set up the memorial, which will include the planting of a live oak tree and the dedication of a bench and a small monument. He said the recipient of the money was among about a dozen students who traveled to St. Petersburg for the soldier's funeral March 11, which was attended by about 600 people at St. Raphael Catholic Church on Snell Isle. Family members declined to name the student or cite the amount of money left to her but said it would pay for several years of college. Family members have known of the soldier's intentions to help a student. The student learned at the funeral that she was a beneficiary. "She was in tears already, and she broke down even more," Judith Anderson said. "She just couldn't believe it. Her parents were just in awe too. We all were." Marc Anderson's mother told the student to do her best in college. "You know Marc," she told the student. "He doesn't want 100 percent. He wants 110 percent." -- Times staff writer Leanora Minai and Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
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From the Times state desk Howard Troxler Lucy Morgan
From the state wire
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