Tributes to Mary Anne Andersen
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| Mary Anne delighted in giving the mini-grant funds for community art projects. |
Thanks for Mary Anne Andersen’s Service to the Arts
By Cedar City Arts Council for the Iron County Today Arts Column
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Mary Anne Andersen on July 24. We have been enriched by knowing this remarkable and talented lady. Funeral information for Saturday below.
From Sally Hunter Jensen, “One of the perks of becoming a CCAC board member was the fact that Mary Anne was also on the board. I looked forward to working with her, because every time I had occasion to work with her or visit with her at work in the past, she impressed me with her delightful, dry humor, her many abilities and talents and her commitment to serving our community using all of the aforementioned with excellence, diligence and a quiet confidence. I admired her.
About 20 years ago, I just happened to be one of the lucky recipients of a "Mary Anne postcard." It contained a beautiful little personal message thanking me for something I had done in the community. Her postcard meant a lot to me and the next time I saw her I told her so. I found out that she had made a decision to send a thank you note to someone in the community she appreciated, every week. She had been doing this for some time. This little recollection sums up the kind of person Mary Anne was.”
From Sara Penny’s nomination for Mary Anne Andersen which resulted in her receiving a Governor’s Service Award last summer: “She directed the mini-grant program for the Cedar City Arts Council. The Cedar City Arts Council has been awarding mini-grants since 2008. As of 2024 the Arts Council has given over $85,000 and awarded over 178 mini-grants since starting the mini-grant program in amounts from $100 to $500 per project. More info: https://www.
She also served on the Board for the Cedar City Music Arts Association that brings in national and international music performance to Cedar City. In addition she directed the Arts Council Literary group. All of this service was as a volunteer. She taught piano at SUU and in her home as well as serving as an accompanist for both university and community musicians. Her husband LeGrand Andersen was active in providing musical direction for children's plays through the Utah Shakespeare Festival's "Playmakers" program. They "retired" to our community after successful music education careers and have had a significant and positive impact on building the arts in Cedar City.”
The Arts Council has a short video featuring Mary Anne from photos at arts functions from 2017 to 2023 on our Youtube channel at CedarCityArts.
“Mary Anne derived immense joy from donating to eligible recipients whose proposals promised to benefit the community. Serving on the Mini Grant committee with her was a delight, as she would become almost giddy with excitement for each project,” said Roger Gold.
As Steve Yates said, “What a force for good” she has been. We have been fortunate to work with her and she will be greatly missed.
“As a teacher she lovingly demanded rigor and had a high standard for excellence from her students. Mary Anne loved teaching students on all levels of proficiency, elementary to university students. She loved them all, and her house was intentionally designed to host piano lessons with a special room, dedicated for that purpose. I wasn’t surprised to hear that in her last week before she passed, she still taught piano lessons to her students,” said Michael Bahr.
“She began writing a weekly column for Iron County Today. Since 2013 Mary Anne has written over 500 columns. We are grieving a great lady who was fierce up to the end!” said Deborah Snider.
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further information: Sara Penny, 586-2286, landline
Full Tribute from Deborah Snider:
When I was President of the Cedar City Arts Council from 2013 to 2015, Mary Anne Andersen and I had tremendous fun, cooking up new initiatives and expanding existing ones. She was a fierce champion of the Mini-Grant program, and she began writing a weekly column on the Arts for Iron County Today. Since 2013, Mary Anne has written over 500 columns, never lacking a new perspective. We have remained emotionally close since my retirement in 2017, and I will treasure her and her legacy as an Agent of Change. You will always remain in our hearts…thank you, Mary Anne!
- Deborah Snider, Associate Professor Emerita, Department of Art & Design, Southern Utah University and Past President of the Cedar City Arts Council
Full Tribute from Michael Bahr:
“Mary Anne Andersen was a passionate advocate of the all of the arts in Cedar City. This was clearly evident in her weekly column where she lovingly shared her experiences with a wide array of art experiences providing by art groups in town. She and her husband Dr. LeGrande Andersen, would attend everything.”
‘As a teacher she lovingly demanded rigor and had a high standard for excellence from her students. Mary Anne loved teaching students on all levels of proficiency, elementary to university students. She loved them all, and her house was intentionally designed to host piano lessons with a special room, dedicated for that purpose. I wasn’t surprised to hear that in her last week before she passed, she still taught piano lessons to her students.’
‘As a leader in the arts council she worked closely with the Mini grants program. A wide and diverse group of artists and individuals were blessed each year. Dancers, visual artists, stained glass artisans, print-makers, musicians, there is a long list of artists who were personally engaged through Mary Anne’s personal passion for these projects and people.’
‘Mary Anne would personally hand-write notes and send them to me following Playmaker performances that she attended. These missives would include celebratory comments about what she enjoyed, I also appreciated that she would provide critiques and constructive feedback or if there were improvements that she knew we could incorporate. I was always touched by the time she took, and the intentional efforts of providing artistic enlightenment. It would improve our productions.”
- Michael Bahr, USF Director and past Director for the Playmakers
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 3, 2024 at 11:00 am at the Mesa Hills Ward building located at 1925 W. 320 S., Cedar City, UT. A viewing will be held on Friday, August 2, 2024 from 6:00-8:00 pm at Southern Utah Mortuary (190 N. 300 W., Cedar City, UT.) On Saturday the viewing will be at the Church prior to the service from 9:30-10:30 am.
Full obituary: Mary Anne Andersen obituary
We also have a video of photos of Mary Anne from numerous Cedar City Arts Council and arts events at https://youtube.com/shorts/nwxyrc8ub2w?feature=shared
One of her favorite projects was the stained glass window on Main Street. The sound isn't great, but you can catch the enthusiasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGwznxOxitQ
Program from funeral:
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