Derrell Milo Andersen

PROVIDENCE, UTAH: On March 20, 2013, Derrell Milo Andersen returned to his Heavenly Father after saying goodbye for the last time to his loving family here on earth. He was 86.

Derrell was born April 2, 1926, to Milo and Catherine Collings Andersen in Fairview, Wyoming. He was the youngest of four children.

Derrell was always a hard worker, but he still found time to enjoy nature on the back of his horse, Tony, in the mountains above the family’s homesteads in Auburn and Grover, WY. He and his family enjoyed participating in games and activities, and held fond memories of working together as a family.

After graduating high school, Derrell served an LDS church mission in Denmark. Several years after his return, he moved to Salt Lake City where he worked for the Utah State Road Commission. It was during this time that he attended a church dance where, as he was about to quietly exit the building unnoticed, he met and fell in love with a beautiful red-headed lady, Jeanette Pulley, who became his eternal companion. They married June 14, 1963, in the Logan LDS temple.

They settled in Grover, Wyoming, where five daughters were blessed to join their union. It was often commented by others that the Andersen home was a place of refuge where anyone was welcome: the Japanese biker who needed a piece of grass for his tent and ended up having dinner with the family and camping on the lawn; the homeless man passing through that hungered for a meal; and so many others. When Derrell and Jeanette sold their home and moved to Providence, UT, in 1999, the new owners in Wyoming said they would never sell that house because the walls seemed to ooze love.

Derrell was a jack of all trades: ranching, farming, logging, postal worker, tax consultant, notary public, engine repair, and whatever else anyone needed to be done. He could fix almost anything, and he taught everything he could to his daughters.

But the greatest thing he taught his family was to love their neighbor more than themselves, and he exemplified this through service at any time, day or night, to anyone who needed it. It didn’t matter who the person was or what their beliefs were, as if they were family, he reached out to them.

When Derrell and Jeanette moved to Providence, they became active participants in doing as much family history, church, and temple work as possible. To the very end, Derrell immersed himself in serving the Lord to the best of his ability. Even with oxygen and a walker in tow, he could be seen at the temple, family history center, or involved in service projects doing whatever was within his ability to do. His example to his fellow beings and his faith in them inspired many to be better than they already were.

Derrell is survived by his five daughters; Tonya Jeanette (Victor Hugo) Fraga of Houston, TX, DeEtte (Eric) Voellger of Bonney Lake, WA, Janell (Lyle) Johnson of Logan, UT, Beth Andersen of Providence, UT, and Deenna (Scott) Tolentino of Garden City, UT, and 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jeanette, two sisters (Baby Laura Andersen and Mae Hardy), brother (Merle), and his parents.