Dawn Renee Anderson

Dawn Anderson was a warm ray of sunshine in the lives of everyone who knew her. She embodied the positive, steady glow that her name implies, shining happiness on every day like the rising sun, brightening entire lives in the process.

Dawn was born in Houston, Texas, on October 16, 1959, as the second-youngest of five children. She died June 24, 2025, at the age of 65.

She was an honor roll student at Mt. Carmel Catholic High School before graduating from the University of Houston in 1982 with a degree in education. After a few years as a first-grade teacher, Dawn embarked on a trip to Europe, where she met a young man in an elevator named Roger Anderson. They fell in love on the banks of Lake Lucerne in the shadow of the Swiss Alps. After a year of long-distance dating, they married in 1986 in Pearland, Texas. 

One day Dawn visited Roger at work and discovered he shared a cubicle with a fellow electrical engineer named Dave Frodin. He offered her a lollipop, and the trio became fast friends, moving into a house together in Texas. Dawn and Roger grew their family, with Colin, 35, the first to arrive, followed quickly by Casey, 33, Jacob, 29, and Jenna, 28. In 2000, Dawn and Roger packed the four kids, a dog, and a bird into the family minivan and followed Dave on a move to Colorado. After living with him for a few months, they bought the best house on the cul-de-sac, overlooking a park in Longmont.

The house became the site of many treasured memories. Dawn fiercely loved her children: teaching them, playing with them, watching them grow. She curated a childhood full of coziness, crafts, community, comfort, and creativity. 

"It was so wonderful that I often wish I could​ live my childhood again," her daughter Jenna said. 

Dawn and Roger made it idyllic: a full breakfast cooked in the morning before school, a fresh-baked snack waiting when you got home. The air in the house always filled with the scent of warm cinnamon and sugar snickerdoodle cookies. Outdoor movie nights in the summer. Long hot days when country music played over the house speakers while Roger grilled and Dawn gardened. Christmases filled with matching jammies, happy chaos and homemade kolaches. Always having a dog. The time Roger won the Boulder County salsa cookoff and all the kids got quoted in the newspaper. A hot tub for all the high school friends to hang out in. 

Shortly before she died, Dawn told her children they were the best thing that ever happened to her. And she meant it with all her heart. 

Her legacy of love had no bounds. She brought many people into the warm hug of the family, collecting “bonus children” who trusted her as a second mom. All were drawn to her light.

We are absolutely gutted to lose her at 65, just two months after her cancer diagnosis. She was beloved by all she leaves behind: husband Roger Anderson; children Colin (Ashlee) Anderson, Casey (Staci Bradbury) Anderson, Jacob (Kendall) Anderson, Jenna (Grant) Fischer; grandchildren Harper, Evelyn, Paul, and Mack Anderson, mother Belva Landry; and siblings Linda Young, Mark (Becky) Landry, Matt (Terese) Landry, Cass (Suzanne) Landry; best friends Dave Frodin and Jill Heimbach; and many nieces and nephews and their children.

It’s hard to face a future without Dawn. But we find comfort in the words of the cross-stitch she made for Roger as a newlywed: “When you’re lonely, I wish you love. When you’re down, I wish you joy. When you’re troubled, I wish you peace. When things are complicated, I wish you simple beauty. When things are chaotic, I wish you inner silence. When things look empty, I wish you hope.”

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Lionscrest Manor in Lyons (603 Indian Lookout Road). To honor Dawn’s memory, please consider baking a batch of snickerdoodle cookies and inviting the ones you love over for a game night. 

Dawn’s Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe — Dough: 1 cup butter, 1 ⅓ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 3 cups flour, 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp baking soda, pinch of salt. Cinnamon Sugar Coating: 2 tbsp sugar, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon. Steps: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl mix cinnamon and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter, sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Add flour, cream of tartar, salt, and baking soda. Beat until blended. Chill dough. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2x2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes.