Joseph A. Anderson

From a memorial note posted at the Amherst web site, we learn belatedly of the death of Joe Anderson, Merrill Anderson's older son and long-time senior vice president of the company, on January 14, 2007.

Joe was a naval aviator during World War II. At The Merrill Anderson Company his responsibilities included client contact and business development.

Though Joe did not consider himself a creative type, he came up with a key marketing insight: Trust departments at banks were virtually invisible to the naked eye of their prospective clients. And he devised a solution that remains in use today: Trust Posters.

The first posters were silkscreened. Joe was so intrigued by the process, I heard, that after he retired he set up silkscreening equipment in his Bridgehampton garage.

Joe is survived by his brother, Steve, his daughter, Helen, and two grandchildren.