Gloria Jean Rowland Andersen

Gloria Jean Rowland Andersen passed away peacefully in her home on March 6, 2025 at the age of 78. She brought an artist's heart to everything she did as a sister, grandmother, musician, painter, poet, teacher, lover of nature, friend, wife, and most profoundly, as a mother to eight boys.

Born on April 18, 1946 in Roanoke, Virginia to Claude and Maybelle McDaniel Rowland, Gloria grew up under the light of Roanoke's star on Mill Mountain. Her childhood alternated between tomboy adventures–climbing trees and exploring the city's green woods and gardens–and artistic expression–performing music and dancing on stage and singing on the radio. In Roanoke, she cultivated what would become a lifelong love of sharing nature and music with others. She also never lost the playful air of her childhood, and even in hard times she would find a way to laugh and smile at the absurd–a constant gift to those around her.

A 1964 graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Gloria treasured the friendships and memories she gained through music, cheerleading, pageants, theater, modeling dresses, and serving on the yearbook committee. One of the greatest joys from her later years was reconnecting with so many of her dear classmates as she helped organize their 50 year reunion.

After high school, Gloria traded the Appalachian Mountains for the Rocky Mountains to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she studied English and French. Gloria was gifted with words and turning a phrase, and was very difficult to beat at Scrabble and other word games. Her university experience was also filled with other favorite family folklore like having a pet hawk, road tripping to folk and jazz festivals, hitchhiking around France and learning French fluently, and of course playing music at every opportunity. During this time, she met and married her first husband, Hans Andersen Jr.

Together, Gloria and Hans raised eight sons. When asked why she had so many, she would half-joke that she planned to keep on going until she had a daughter. As a mother, she instilled in her boys her same love for nature and music. Life on the Andersen family farm for the boys was filled with caring for barnyard animals and orchards, vines, and very productive vegetable gardens. There were also frequent outings into the canyons, the desert, or down to her beloved Utah Lake. Music was the heart of the home. Transplanting her Virginia roots to Utah Valley, she started the Andersen Family Bluegrass Band. Each son learned to play an instrument and sing, and the family would perform at festivals, restaurants, hospitals, and nursing homes. Gloria took to heart that pure religion is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, as many Monday evenings for the family involved performing for senior citizens around Utah.

After her marriage to Hans ended, she married fellow artist and musician McRay Magleby of Provo, Utah. Together, they shared their art and music, performing across Utah Valley and becoming beloved fixtures at the Provo Farmers Market. Gloria also enjoyed teaching and loved her fellow teachers and students at the Walden School of Liberal Arts, Amelia Earhart Elementary, and Dixon Middle School. During this period she produced an astounding number of watercolors that captured her love for the beauties of the earth.

We will miss her pleasant smile and joie de vivre. She is welcomed into her heavenly home by her parents Claude and Maybelle Rowland. She is survived by her 19 grandchildren: Hans IV, Tye, Jace, Lauren, Ian, Eve, Tim, Isaac, Claire, Lily, Thomas, Ava, Avery, Brogan, Oliver, Finn, Chloe, Leo and Theodore; eight sons: Hans III (Janice), Josh, Ben (Kelly), Joseph (Jessica), Claude, Gabriel (Amber), John Paul (Roxy), and Matthew (Ashley); her brother Richard Rowland; her first husband Hans Andersen Jr.; her husband McRay Magleby; and a small army of caring brothers and sisters-in law, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends that she cherished.

In lieu of flowers–which Gloria loved–she would ask that we go for a walk in nature, share a melody with a friend, show kindness to a stranger, and feed the birds out of your hand.