Gary Anderson

Salt Lake City, Utah – Gary Joe Anderson, affectionately known as “Grumpy Gary” was born to Alvis and Helen Mendenhall Anderson in Sugar House, Utah, on September 21, 1936. Gary graduated from South High School in 1954 and the University of Utah in 1958 where he earned two Bachelor of Science degrees in Business and Industrial Psychology. After graduation, Gary married his beloved wife, Cynthia Sue Anderson, in 1958, and they moved to Southern California where Gary worked for American Aviation on the landing gear design team for the XB-70 Valkyrie bomber. Gary served in the Utah Air National Guard on the general staff for the 191st flight squadron.

In 1962, Gary and Sue returned to Salt Lake City where Gary worked for Proctor & Gamble while studying to complete another degree in Metallurgical Engineering. After graduation in 1969, Gary pursued a long career with Corhart, an industrial subsidiary of Corning. Over the course of his career, his sales territories and clients spanned the globe with major accounts in North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa and here in Utah with Kennecott Copper. He traveled to 37 countries and compiled a long list of adventures, close calls and stories that he would pass on to family and friends.

In 1986, Gary retired from Corning and started his own company, Thermal Technologies Group, where he provided specialized high temperature ceramics to the petroleum industry until 2016 when he finally decided to put away his hard hat. An important part of Gary’s life was supporting Sue in her dedicated community philanthropy to the arts in Utah, including the Salt Lake Art Center, the University of Utah College of Fine Arts, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA), and the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts. Gary was a perfectionist and a demanding engineer; while this may have contributed to his “grumpy’ outlook, he was well respected by friends and colleagues. Gary’s love for his cherished Sue was followed by his passion for golf, duck hunting, tennis and skiing earlier in his life. Gary and Sue were members of the Salt Lake Country Club and past members of the Alta Club.

Gary is survived by his son, James B. Anderson, his daughter-in-law, Kimberly D. Anderson, and grandchildren Kierstin Shauna and Wyatt Carter Anderson of Landenberg, PA. One daughter, Cynthia Shauna Anderson and his wife, Cynthia Sue preceded him in death. We can only hope that they are united again on the other side of the veil. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts at the University of Utah.

Memorial services will be held at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 South Highland Drive, from 1:00-3:00PM, Friday, March 29, 2019, followed by a wake reception from 3:00-5:00PM at the Salt Lake Country Club at 2400 Country Club Drive, Salt Lake City, UT.