‘Absolute Hero’ : Memorial: Pilot who died in crash, an ex-Valley resident, is remembered for his perseverance, integrity and love of flying.

As a kid growing up in Woodland Hills, Richard Evan Anderson dreamed of being a jet pilot. He made his first solo flight even before getting his driver’s license. He took jobs washing planes, sweeping up hangars and pumping jet fuel just to be near the jets he loved.

Last week, Anderson and another pilot were killed when the private jet they were flying for the military developed engine problems and crashed into a Fresno apartment complex. In trying to land the jet with one of its engines on fire, Anderson avoided a busy schoolyard filled with children and brought the plane down instead on a nearby street.

On Tuesday, at a memorial service at the Church at Rocky Peak on Santa Susana Peak Road, Anderson was eulogized as a man of perseverance and integrity, and as a hero.

“I still believe in dreams . . . and in heroes,” said Fresno Fire Department Capt. Bob Waterston, who was at the crash scene within 10 minutes and who addressed the 250 people who gathered to say a final goodby to Anderson. “Richard was an absolute hero in every sense of the word.”

Anderson and another pilot, Bradford J. Sexton, 34, both of Klamath Falls, Ore., were returning to the Fresno airport in a jet owned by Georgia-based Phoenix Air after completing a training exercise with an F-16 fighter shortly before noon Dec. 14. They began experiencing engine trouble and radioed the airport tower.

They tried to land the plane on a wide street about two miles southwest of the airport. The plane skidded down the street, mowing down power poles and electrical wires before crashing into a two-story apartment building and exploding in a fireball. The two pilots were the only fatalities.

“I know that he was doing what he loved to do when his time came,” said Jerry Todd, a friend and fellow pilot.

Anderson is survived by his wife, Cindy, and three children, Krista, 13, Richard Bret, 11, and Kaitlyn, 2. He is also survived by his mother, Melba Anderson, his brother, John, and a sister, Kathy Borell. His father died in 1982.

Anderson attended Woodland Hills Elementary School and Taft High School. He and his wife were friends in high school, but they did not begin dating until after they graduated.

“He wanted to ask me to the prom, but a girlfriend of mine told him I already had a date even though I didn’t,” Cindy Anderson recalled Tuesday. “So I didn’t go to my prom.”

The two attended Pierce College together, and then he went on to Texas A & M University. Before completing his studies, he returned to the San Fernando Valley, and married Cindy in 1979. They lived in Panorama City for a while and settled in Castaic for seven years before moving to Oregon two years ago.

“He was a man of integrity and honesty,” Cindy Anderson said. “I’ve lost my best friend.”

David W. Miller, pastor of the Church at Rocky Peak, where Anderson and his family attended for nearly four years before moving to Oregon, said Anderson had a strong spiritual relationship with God.

“While we struggle with the questions of why, he is with the one who has the answers,” Miller told the gathering. “Richard is more alive than anyone here.”

John Anderson said he was always proud of his younger brother.

“He was such a wonderful example of devotion and dedication to a cause,” said Anderson. “He was in a profession he loved, he was flying missions he loved. He was a tremendous family man, husband and father, a great brother and a wonderful son.

“My father died in 1982. We as a family believe that we will see him again,” Anderson continued. “Now we believe we will see Richard again. Richard just got to see Dad first. Our hearts are at peace with this knowledge.”