Bruce Alan Andersen

The second of four sons, Bruce was born on June 29, 1958, in Oakland, NE, to Bob and Marion Andersen. His parents moved their growing family to Colorado around the time he was in 2nd grade, moving into Berthoud sometime between 6th & 7th grade.

As the story goes, Bruce met his forever love, Cheri Coven, while attending Berthoud High School – Cheri literally falling at his feet in the halls of the school. Shortly thereafter, they married in August of 1975 and Bruce enlisted in the Army to help support his young family.

His daughter, Jessica, was born in March of 1976, while he was in Basic Training, followed by his son, Joshua, in 1980 while he was stationed in Germany with his wife and young daughter. After serving his time in the Army, he moved his family back to Berthoud in 1981.

Returning to civilian life, Bruce worked for Edson Express for a year before finding a position out at the nuclear weapons production facility, Rocky Flats. He stayed there until the plant was shut down in 1992. From there he worked for himself off and on, as well as for a custom cabinetry company, and finally ending his working years as a facility maintenance manager at a luxury apartment complex for a property management company.

Through the years, Bruce learned new hobbies, falling in love with gold panning, until his knees and back couldn’t take the kneeling and bending over. Bruce’s artistic side flourished with the love of carving whimsical faces out of everything from golf balls and pencils to gourds and antler shed. He also developed a love of golf, taking to it like a fish out of water, playing whenever the weather was nice, participating in numerous tournaments through work or whenever the opportunity arose.

Bruce also had a love of traveling, taking long road trips, sometimes as a family of four, but always with Cheri at his side, exploring state and national parks, creating wonderful and cherished memories. Bruce and Cheri also enjoyed traveling with his sister- and brother-in-law, taking many cruises over the years, or meeting up in Reno or Las Vegas. When traveling wasn’t in the plans, he enjoyed spending a day up in Blackhawk and Central City, gambling with his allotted funds, always with the hope he came back with more than he left with.

Bruce was many things to many people, and unexpectedly if you were to ask him, but most importantly, he was a best friend and partner, travel companion, and the rock against which Cheri moored herself. He was the first man Jessica learned to love, the one who gave her the love of music, the one who could make her laugh her big belly laughs until she cried. Bruce was the man to which Joshua cast his eyes to as his hero, someone who stood so tall in his son’s eyes, and showed him the ropes of being a good man. Bruce was a father who loved to be silly with his children, he was a husband who truly loved and cherished his wife.

He wore many hats, not just that of Husband and Father. He was a Father-in-Law to Jessica’s husband, Jeremy, who loved him like a 2nd father, sharing a sense of humor and work ethic that bonded them.

But it is believed by all who knew him that he had two very cherished hats that he wore with great pride. The first was that of Grandpa to his 5 grandchildren – Jessica and Jeremy’s 3 children - Jordyn (and husband, Cameron), Dylan (and his fiancé, Cienna) and Aydan, and Joshua’s 2 children - Claire and Evan.

The last hat, and the one that fit him best, was Opa to his great granddaughter, Emery (Jordyn & Cameron’s daughter), to whom Bruce will now and forever more be known as Emery’s Pez Fairy.

In addition to his wife of 49 years, his daughter and son, his grandchildren and great granddaughter, Bruce is survived by both an older brother, Steve Andersen, and two younger brothers, Christian Andersen and Todd Andersen.

One of Bruce’s favorite pastimes was to play a round of golf in the Colorado sun, and to honor that memory, Cheri, Jessica, and Joshua would like to invite all who knew Bruce to come together and share their treasured memories, love, and laughter in a Celebration of Life open house.

June 23, 2024 10am-1pm, The Pavilion at Saddleback, 8631 Frontier St Firestone, CO 80504