Hyrum Anderson Mead

Hyrum Anderson Mead, Sr. beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away of natural causes, January 12, 2017 at Rye, Colorado. He was 96 1/2 years of age. Hyrum was born July 12, 1920 near Rye, Colorado, the area where his father was born and two of his great-grandparents and grandfather are buried. He was the fifth of 7 children born to Enoch Roland and Sarah (Anderson) Mead. His brothers and sisters were Enoch Roland II, Hazel Leone (Atterberry), James Joseph, Ramah William, David Crockett, and Jessie Viola (Moore) Mead. Hyrum lived near Rye and in Pueblo and surrounding regions until he was 14, when his father applied for a homestead of 320 acres along Pass Creek 20 miles southwest of Gardner, Colorado. Hyrum and his younger brother David fenced the homestead and built a substantial home for their family. He met Opal Estella Jarrell at Gardner High School. They were married Dec. 26, 1941 and later sealed in the Logan Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Married for 63 years, they have 6 children, 22 grandchildren, and 38 great-grandchildren. Opal had a debilitating stroke 17 years before her death in 2004, and Hyrum lovingly cared for her in their home until her death. Hyrum became a staff sergeant in U. S. Army during World War II. In Europe he fought in the second wave of the Battle of the Bulge and then served in Japan. The 97th Infantry Division in which he served became the most traveled division in the history of the U.S. Army. Hyrum earned a degree from Pueblo College and spent 35 years of his career employed by the state maintaining refrigeration and air conditioning equipment at the Colorado State Hospital. His many accomplishments include inventions used in servicing commercial air conditioning systems. In 1957 Hyrum’s family moved to Rye where he and Opal were instrumental in the establishment of a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The congregation for which Hyrum served as its first Branch President for 7 years has since grown into a thriving Ward housed in a beautiful chapel. Hyrum and Opal fulfilled many callings for their church, including Hyrum’s calling as a member of a stake high council. Hyrum is survived by his children Hyrum Anderson (Rosemary) Mead Jr., North Salt Lake, Utah; Colleen Joy (David) Evensen, Shelley, Idaho; Delaine Joyce Shifflet, Rye, Colorado; Nola Jean (Reid) Swenson, Salt Lake City; Utah, and Carl Wayne (Patricia "Penny") Mead, Kaysville, Utah. He was preceded in death by his parents, all of his siblings, daughter Elaine Gail Mead, grandson Derick Anders Shifflet, and son-in-law Robert Kent Shifflet. Funeral service will be held at noon in the Rye Ward chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The viewing will be from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. prior to the funeral. Interment will be at the Gardner Cemetery in Gardner, Colorado. The family expresses its deep appreciation to Hyrum’s daughter, Delaine Shifflet, for her extraordinary service in caring for him during the final years of his life.Arrangements under the direction of Adrian-Comer Funeral Home, Pueblo, CO.