STOUFFVILLE, ON – Don Anderson loved trucks, and almost 100 trucks representing friends — and even some of his competitors — took a trip down Highway 404 on Saturday morning in a fitting tribute to his legacy.

The founder of Don Anderson Haulage, and a longtime member of the Ontario Trucking Association, died on Canada Day at the age of 80.

The successful entrepreneur began his career with a single gravel truck in 1960, later expanding to specialized industries such as infrastructure, oil and gas, and energy. The business grew to about 100 trucks overall. He earned the Ontario Trucking Association’s Service to Industry Award about a decade ago.

“Don Anderson was the embodiment of everything that is good about the trucking industry — dedication, hard work, honesty, a loving husband and family man, a sense of humour. Donnie, as he was affectionately known, had the respect of his industry peers and they had his,” said David Bradley, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, in a statement issued after Anderson’s death. “He and [his wife] Maris, and you couldn’t think of one without the other, were a wonderful couple and an incredible team until the very end. Donnie was larger than life — I wouldn’t have wanted to be skating down his side of the ice — with that huge smile and even bigger presence.”

In recent years, Anderson faced bouts of prostate cancer, an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and small cell lung cancer. But even when being treated with chemotherapy and radiation, he was often seen conducting business from his bedside.