Jodey John Anderson

1955 - 2019

On Friday, July 12, 2019, our brother Jodey John Anderson passed away.
He was born in 1955 and enjoyed telling people that he had three birthdays. He liked birthdays. He graduated from Evergreen High School in 1973 and attended the Colorado School of Mines for a short time.
Jodey had a keen intellect and the eye of an artist. His high school chemistry teacher told his mother that he was the most gifted student he had ever taught.
Jodey went to work at Henderson Mine on Berthoud Pass, mining molybdenum. He enjoyed working there, loving the bizarre schedule and the people he met.
Moving on, he came to work for our parents at Anderson's Mountain Market. Prior to our store opening, he went to work at a sub shop to learn how to make sandwiches, and he went to work at 7-Eleven, usually working the graveyard shifts to inventory the store, so we knew what to put on the shelves.
His time at the market was spent interacting with all of the people who would stop, sometimes just to chat. There was generally a crowd in the office intermingling with all four of them, our parents Walt and Doris plus our sister Beth.
The whole family would come in to help with the lunch crowd. There would be 50 to 60 high school students there, and they only had so much time, making us hustle to get them their sandwiches. We loved every minute. The store was Jodey's life.
Jodey loved his nieces and nephews. One time he built a teepee in the backyard and invited them to a powwow. He loved the annual Fourth of July fireworks display, acting as the master of ceremonies for Walt and Doris' party that they would throw at their house overlooking the lake.
After Anderson's Mountain Market was sold, he set out to eradicate the invasive thistles, starting on his property and expanding to include the entire valley. We would see him driving around town with a full truck, and when he spotted a thistle, he would just stop by the side of the road like the tourists do with the elk.
He would also help anybody who needed anything. In his truck we found a load of signs from some big event directing people to the parking lot. There must have been a hundred signs that he picked up. We have no idea what event it was, but he also picked up the trash.
Jodey was a kind soul who loved this community. We would see people waiting to talk to him at the post office and do not know how he got out in a timely manner.
He loved rocks. Arranging the kaleidoscope of moss rocks into a solid wall appealed to his creative side. He was also a logger who loved cutting down beetle-kill trees for their color to use in his house and the store. We have a painting called Jodey's woodpile. It reminds us of when we looked at that spectacular view of the lake, and there it was.
To know Jodey was to know his photography. He loved to take photos of Evergreen Lake at sundown and the Mount Evans view from his deck. His passion for the land was on display when he married the parcel where his home is built. The parcel was a hodge-podge of 58 odd-shaped lots that he purchased from multiple sellers including Children's Hospital and Denver Masonic Lodge. That land was one of his passions. The four-story house that Jodey built mimicked Walt and Doris' house; both were owner-built, were faced with moss rock and had panoramic views of the mountains.
We are planning a memorial service on Aug. 3, date and time to be determined. It is going to be on the land that our grandparents purchased in 1895. In lieu of flowers, please pull up a thistle in Jodey's honor. If you insist on giving money, please give to the Mountain Area Land Trust.
Jodey was preceded in death by his parents, Walt and Doris, and his sister Lisa. He was outlasted by his brothers Steve (Mimi) and Peter (Pam), his sisters Mary (Joe) Karuzas and Beth (Wayne), plus six nieces and nephews.
We are lucky to live in this community, and the family would like to thank everyone who told their stories and shared his life.