Yvonne Lewis Anderson, 86, of Austin, passed away after several years of declining health on November 8, 2013. She was born in Waco, Texas, on February 28, 1927. She graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas, Texas as Valedictorian at the age of 16. She received a scholarship to attend Abilene Christian University. She married Dr. John D. Anderson on April 12, 1946 and after taking time from her studies to start a family, she completed her undergraduate degree in English at LaGrange College, La Grange, Georgia. She was one of three women to receive a grant for graduate studies from the American Association of University Women and went on to complete her graduate work in Linguistics at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. She moved to the Rio Grande Valley when her husband took the position of Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Texas - Pan American and began a lengthy career as an English professor. She was a tireless supporter of the arts and of the University of Texas - Pan American (UTPA). She served with distinction on a number of boards including the International Women's Board (IWB) of the UTPA Foundation, for which she served two years as president, and the South Texas Symphony Association. She served as president of the Valley Symphony Orchestra Board and was a driving force behind establishment of the South Texas Youth Symphony. In 2006, she was selected by the UTPA Alumni Association for their Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her years of dedicated service to UTPA students, and in 2008, she received the Excellence in Leadership Award from the IWB. She was a founding member of the UTPA President's Circle and was also a member of the UTPA Foundation Heritage Society. She established several endowments with the University of Texas - Pan American Foundation: the Martha May Tevis Endowment, the Tom and Elaine Anderson Memorial Endowed Music Scholarship, the John D. Anderson Memorial Endowed Music Scholarship, the Christopher and Vivian Munn Choral Scholarship, and the Yvonne L. Anderson Endowed Theatre Scholarship (hereafter known as the Yvonne L. Anderson Memorial Endowed Theatre Scholarship). -