From their first blind date to the moment he found out his wife, Summer, was pregnant with their third child, Adam Andersen loved hard.
Andersen, 36, of Idaho Falls, died last week from injuries sustained in a snowmobile accident. He was caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling with friends near Mount Jefferson in Island Park.
“It was just a normal day,” Summer said. “He was just going to go out for a short afternoon ride with two friends. He said he loved us and that he would be careful when he walked out the door and that was it.”
The avalanche occurred late in the evening on Jan. 10 and because of the conditions, a full search and rescue happened the following day. Several dozen friends and family volunteered to help locate Adam. But because the rescue team found him so quickly, they didn’t participate in the recovery.
“They went back the next day with cadaver dogs and were able to find him quickly,” Summer said. “It was really touching how many people showed up to help Adam.”
Summer and Adam celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary five days before he left for Island Park. In addition to his wife, mother and two older sisters, Adam leaves behind three children: a 6-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy with special needs and a 2-month-old baby girl.
“Adam was the most amazing father,” Summer said. “He had a love for his children that could move mountains.”
Being the parent of child with special needs can be difficult, but that wasn’t the case for Adam, Summer added.
“With my son with special needs he had incredible support in Adam,” she said with emotion in her voice. “I cry for that. I cry for all three of them because Adam provided everything they needed to be successful in life.”
She continued, “He was just the most amazing father, and I am just so sad for them that they won’t get that for the rest of their lives. It’s just a tragedy that this is all they got.”
Born in Pocatello where he lived until he was 10, Adam moved to Rigby and graduated from Rigby High School. Described by Summer as a naturally athletic man, Adam received a full-ride athletic scholarship to play football for Idaho State University.
“He was one of those men that can do anything with very little effort,” Summer said. “Eventually he transferred to the University of Louisville where he finished his biology degree.”
Adam moved back to Idaho and established his own trucking company before meeting Summer. This last year, he transitioned into a new position with Teton Petroleum Transport as a regional manager so that he could be home with his family every night.
“I was incredibly reluctant, but my best friend set me up on a blind date with him,” Summer said about the first time she met Adam. “She told me I was really going to like this guy and I did, and that was it.”
Not just a devoted father, son and husband, Adam loved everything outdoors. Summer said he was a man of adventure and grew up roaming the Idaho mountains with his best friend and father, the late Ed Wayne Andersen.
“He was an outdoor enthusiast,” Summer said. “He did everything with his dad — camping, snowmobiling, dirt-biking, four-wheeling and riding horses — anything you could imagine outside Adam did it and he loved it.”
In addition to athletics and outdoor recreation, Adam was a social butterfly, someone who made new friends at every turn in life, according to Summer.
“He was incredibly vivacious,” Summer said. “When I became pregnant for the third time I was very stern about keeping it to ourselves. But within a week everybody knew because he was so excited and just couldn’t contain himself. He would tell people but say, ‘Don’t tell Summer, though.’”
Services for Adam will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, in the Idaho Falls LDS Mesa Building at 2545 Mesa St. Bishop Jason Blundell, of the Bridgewater Ward, will officiate. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wood Funeral Home East Side at 963 South Ammon Road, and Monday from 10 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. prior to services at the church.
To assist with Adam’s funeral and his family’s living expenses, an online fundraiser has been established and is accessible by visiting, www.youcaring.com/summerandersen-1066160. The YouCaring.com fundraiser has been shared more than 2,000 times on social media and — with 184 donors — has raised more than $15,000.
Adam was an avid hockey fan and it was a sport that he shared a love for with his 6-year-old son. The Idaho Falls Youth Hockey Association canceled two practices from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, and will host a skate-a-thon open to the public. The entry fee is $5. All proceeds from the entrance fee and sales of concessions will go directly to the family.
Lastly, the Chick-fil-A in Ammon is hosting a fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday night. Adam’s family will receive 15 percent of the money spent by patrons of the restaurant who dine during those three hours, and identify that they are visiting on behalf of Adam and his family.
“I have just been completely blown away by the support of the community,” Summer said. “I genuinely don’t have the words to express how thankful we are. It’s been absolutely humbling. I just don’t have the words to properly thank people.”
She continued, “Adam was just such an adventurous man and will be so greatly missed by more than just his family. He was just incredible.”
