Michael Roy Anderson

Michael Roy Anderson was born on May 15, 1966, in Sacramento, California, to Patricia Earl Anderson and Larry Roy Anderson. He came to earth along with his older twin sister Michelle. He was a surprise to everyone as there were no ultrasounds then.

The new little family moved to Montrose, Colorado, where Michael lived until he was seventeen years old. Growing up in Montrose was the best. The small Southwestern town provided an ideal situation to raise a boy. Joining the family in Montrose came Christine, Rick and Elisabeth.

Family, school, church and outdoor activities were all important things to Michael. Family home evenings almost every Monday night were the highlight of the week. It was always fun to play kickball in the backyard or to play color eggs with his parents and siblings. He loved competitive fun on family game night. It was difficult to remember that the purpose of family home evening was to have lessons on the gospel and Jesus Christ since the games were the highlight.

Church was important to Michael and his family and they attended almost every meeting, every week, without fail. He stayed close to the church and always had a testimony of God and Jesus Christ. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Albuquerque New Mexico Mission from July 1985 to July 1987. He enjoyed the opportunity to meet, work with, and serve among the people of New Mexico and his fellow servants on the mission. Upon getting home from New Mexico, Michael attended Utah State University.

During the first year back from his mission, he met and married Karla Smith. She was the one for him. Michael and Karla married on July 15, 1988. They were thrilled to welcome Rachel to their family on August 3, 1989. They had another baby, Spencer, who passed away shortly after birth in the hospital. Michael continued his education and completed his Bachelor of Engineering degree in electrical engineering in August 1990.

The following September, the family left Logan to move to Washington, D.C., where Michael began his first career job with the US Department of Energy. While there, he had many interesting opportunities working in the nuclear production reactor program, environmental restoration programs, and research for electric vehicles and producing hydrogen using nuclear energy. Michael’s real desire was to work in the field of his study, which was electrical engineering in power systems. That opportunity came with Rocky Mountain Power in Smithfield, Utah. Michael worked for Rocky Mountain Power for over 11 years.

On June 11, 2012, Michael’s loving wife Karla passed away from a long struggle with cancer that had begun shortly after moving to Utah in October 2008. She fought hard in her battle with cancer because of her love for her family and her desire to continue to be with them and help them in all the ways that she could. Her battle and struggle greatly influenced Michael’s own cancer journey.

In November 2013, Michael and Shelly were married in a small wedding chapel in Nibley, Utah, establishing a partnership and loving marriage. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple. Their marriage was full of adventures and activities. Some of their most loved places to visit were Saint John in the US Virgin Islands and Catalina Island. It is hard to list all of the places they loved adventuring. Their hope for many years together was not nearly enough to continue sharing life’s experiences.

One thing on Michael’s bucket list was to start his own business. From 2019 until 2025, he worked as a power consulting engineer in the company that he created, Active Power Engineering, and became a consultant for small cities to help with their electrical power systems. He had many wonderful associations in his work. It was the perfect opportunity and the right time in life to do this work and he enjoyed every second of it.

In November 2024, Michael was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that was treatable but not curable. He battled the cancer with several treatments until he ultimately made the decision that he would focus on quality of life versus trying many various treatments. He worked to set his family up for success and to endure his last few days and weeks of life.

Michael is survived by his sweet wife Shelly and his nine children Rachel (Paul) Cuna, Samuel (Melissa) Anderson, Jacob (Savannah) Anderson, Nick, Wesley (Melissa) Anderson, Shelby (Colton) Carter, Bailey Anderson, Stephanie Anderson and Jake Anderson, and his nine grandchildren. He is survived by his parents, Larry and Pat Anderson as well as all of his siblings, including his twin Michelle (Stuart) Higham, Christine (Kori) Taylor, Richard (Jenny) Anderson and Elisabeth Standiford, many nieces and nephews, and many wonderful cousins, aunts and uncles.

Michael was preceded in death by his grandparents Clifford Roy and Gladys Berger Anderson and Orange Lavar and Violet Parker Earl as well as several wonderful uncles.

He will be missed by his family and many friends.