Mack Anderson

Mack Anderson (Pappy) died peacefully in his sleepwhile in hospice care at home in Idledale, Colorado.
At 77 years young, he was the beloved husband of Jacquie, father and father-in-law of Zack and Holly,
grandfather of Bobbi, Mack Jr and Eli Anderson, brother and brother-in-law of John and Patty
Anderson and Hal and Cheri Anderson and Uncle (more than an Uncle!) to Matt, Luke, Brian and Tim
Anderson and friend, near and far, to countless.  Mack was an outdoor lover at heart from his early
life in Texas and Montana with mother, Ivy Marie, and father, John Bryant, and brothers John and Hal.
Losing his father at a young age made him question life’s fairness, left him unbridled from fear of taking
risks and led to a lifelong commitment to succeed on his own terms.
Mack and Jacquie married in 1966 while Mack attended Stanford University and Jacquie UC Berkeley.
Partners in life and business, they were restaurant entrepreneurs in the 1970s and design/build partners
from the 1980s till 2017. In business, Mack always created a culture, experience and atmosphere
emphasizing people, not systems.
Mack was so much more than education and accomplishments. He strove to succeed, and did more
often than not, but his goal was never about that. He loved people. And most of all, his son Zack and
his wife Jacquie. Mack’s legacy is a family that carries deep love for one another, his home on the
mountaintop and lifelong friends forever grateful for their time with him. Pappy was on this earth to
love, building a family tribe that looks at life as a balance of acceptance, personal accountability and
finding beauty in humility.
His soul runs strong in all of us and on this mountaintop. He loved nothing more than time with his
family and friends and to be home in what we know as his slice of heaven. He was both a cowboy and a
mountain man. His soul also runs in Montana rivers and mountains, in mountain lion tracks and in eagle
and hawk calls. His soul is unique in that he reminds us how simple life can be when we put love,
acceptance, and joy first - time and time again.
It was such a joy in his final days to witness his friends share their sentiments;
“You’ve made my life a hoot, Mack”,
“I would have slept so much more if you weren’t in my life”,
“Will you be my angel? I need you out there”,
“Giddy up and go cowboy”,
“I’ll see you on the other side”.
He was a joyful, supportive, handsome, loving man. He reminded us that play, and friendship are vital to
happiness. May he live on in the ways we care for each other.