Michael Scott Anderson

Michael Scott Anderson entered into eternity on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents, Martha and Leon, his adopted father Earl, siblings Ronnie, Deborah and Christina. He is survived by his wife Mary Collette, children Magdalene (Matthew) Uhlenkott, Leon Michael (Catie) Anderson, Maura (Peter) Loizzo and Rosemary (Jon) Vander Weele. He is also survived by his grandchildren Raphael, Gabriel, Veronica, Isabel, Michael and Julia Uhlenkott; Taylor, Theresa, Dominic, Jacob, Joseph and Luke Anderson; Giovanna, Maximilian, Vincent, John Henry, Mary, Luke and Elizabeth Loizzo; Simon, Edmund, Mary Teresa and baby grandchild #23 Vander Weele.

Michael Anderson, affectionately known as “Grumpy”, was born in Paducah, Kentucky on December 26, 1946, and spent his early days in the nearby farming community of Metropolis, Illinois (also home to his childhood hero, Superman). His family later moved to Black Forest, Colorado where his father owned and operated a greenhouse. This is where Michael developed his love for gardening, a hobby that he continued throughout his life.  He attended high school at the Air Force Academy High School in Colorado Springs and later went on to study television and radio broadcast at University of Southern Colorado.

He worked in radio broadcasting for a time and then moved on further west to be closer to the mountains. Ever the contemplative soul, Michael found solace in the quiet mountain town of Cripple Creek, Colorado. It was there he met and fell in love with Mary Collette Leonard, a nurse in the local old folks home, where he was the custodian at the time. They were married in 1977 by Fr. Michael Kerrigan, who remained a close friend up until Michael’s last days. They moved to Delta, Colorado and spent much of their early married days exploring and camping on the Grand Mesa. They later relocated to Denver, where Michael had accepted a job as a packaging machinery salesman. This job took them to various Colorado locations and a few blissful years in Idaho. Their marriage was blessed with four children and many wonderful memories.

Dad joined the Catholic faith in 1986 in Twin Falls, Idaho and grew deeper in his devotion to God the Father as he studied scripture. He graduated from the Denver Catholic Biblical School after pursuing an intense study of sacred scripture. His faith was pure and real, and he had a very tender relationship with God the Father, Saint Joseph and the prophets of the Old Testament. He loved to study The Bible and the lives of the saints. His search for truth led him deeper in conversation with his heavenly Father and brought him much consolation after the loss of his own father. He once said that he loved to spend the cool summer evenings in his garden in solidarity with God the Father.

He had a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. He prayed the rosary daily, meditating on the life of Christ with each decade of the rosary. In his final days, the recitation of the rosary brought him much peace and comfort, and he was able to mouth the Hail Marys along with his family in the final hours of his life. A regular parishioner at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, he came to love the traditional Latin Mass and its rich history.

Still water runs deep and Michael’s love for Mary Collette was apparent to all those who knew them. He was her rock and she was his light. They lived out the vows they took on the altar almost fifty years ago, “in good times and in bad, in sickness and health” to love each other all the days of their lives. Their example of a holy and dedicated marriage has had long reaching effects on friends and family alike.

Michael was a devoted husband and father and loved his family with a quiet unwavering strength. He loved to take us on camping trips and picnics and was always up for an adventure, whether that meant building tee-pees in the back yard from trees he’d cut down himself in the mountains or designing his famous “Pal-sled-ski”, a sled made from a wooden pallet with skis attached to the bottom to ensure the most terrifyingly fast sprint down the sledding hill.

Our childhood years were simple and yet profound, and many memories were created over the years. Dad saw the world through the eyes of an artist, and the most ordinary days were turned into adventures with his creative imagination. Many a winter day were spent building snowmen and snow forts, and dad often took us to his favorite tubing hill in Fraser, armed with thermoses of hot chocolate and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Springtime was planting season and Dad made raised garden beds in the backyard and taught us the virtue of patience in waiting for those little seedlings to sprout. Summertime was a bustle of bike rides and bike “car washes”, hiking and the most epic camping trips. Dad loved to take up off the beaten trails to look for wildlife and look for the stars far away from the city lights. The start of the school year meant the start of dads famous school lunches and turning regular white paper towels into epic comic book stories that got more detailed as the years went on.  Dad saved many odds and ends to make homemade Halloween costumes every year and he turned cardboard boxes into robots, board games, and anything else we could dream up. He loved to make things with his hands and detested most things that were mass produced or store bought. We cut down our Christmas tree every year on “Christmas Tree Lane” and one of our best Christmas memories was the year dad bought used skates and got them all sharpened, polished and ready to take us up to spend the day ice skating on Evergreen Lake. Dad rarely missed his children's sporting events and encouraged his children to pursue our dreams.

Grumpy was loved by all who knew him for his humble, unassuming way, his epic storytelling and his sense of humor. He wrote and illustrated stories for his grandchildren and took up the hobby of making pinecone birthday cakes for the little ones, complete with fireworks as candles. He delighted in his grandchildren and lived for their visits and trips to the park with him.

The last thirty years of his life were plagued by chronic pain due to his severe rheumatoid arthritis, and it was a blessing that during his recent hospitalization, he remained pain free for the two weeks leading up to his death. His children were all able to be at his bedside in his final days and his parting gift to us was the witness of his childlike faith and trust in God the Father. 

After observing in a very real way the Passion and Death of Our Lord during the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, Michael passed away peacefully in the arms of his loving wife of forty-eight years on Easter Sunday morning.

He will be deeply missed by his family and friends, but we take great comfort in the knowledge that he went home on Easter, at peace with his family and his God.

We are grateful for your prayers for the repose of his soul.

Viewing and Visitation will be held 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM, Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at Drinkwine Family Chapel, 999 W. Littleton Blvd., Littleton, CO.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 AM, Thursday, May 1, 2025 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 5612 S Hickory Cir, Littleton, CO.

Interment will follow a1:00 PM at Mt. Olivet Cemtery, Wheatridge, CO.

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