Dad

Ellis Hans Pedersen (R) -- Hans to his family, Pete to his friends, and Ellis to the bill collectors -- survived damn near everything except for a bad heart. He passed away April 8th, 2021 under the watchful gaze of Wendover Will, in affordable West Wendover, NV. He was 72 years old on the outside, 16 years old on the inside.

Pete was the fourth child of Ouida Johns and Ellis Hansen Pedersen of Holladay, Utah. He graduated from Olympus High School despite a 1.4 GPA (we’re rounding up) and an incident involving his guidance counselor and a game of chicken in the parking lot. Though he did not attend college, he later held memberships in Mensa and Intertel, and was included in the 1994 edition of Who’s Who.

After dabbling in taxi driving, air conditioner repair, and used car sales, Pete had a full career developing multi-tasking software for mainframe IBM computers. From the kitchen table, he founded multiple companies including a Fortune 1000 publicly traded company (Vision/Blueline Software) with offices around the world.

Pete regaled his children and grandchildren with tales of international business meetings conducted over worm tacos in Mexico and lutefisk in Denmark. In his younger and more limber days, Pete learned to ski with his brothers near the Pedersen family cabin in Christmas Meadows. Years later, on a business trip and lacking the proper attire, Pete spent the better part of the day on the slopes in his three-piece business suit being chased by the ski patrol. Nothing was beyond this man - he learned to fly single engine airplanes, built a home for his family from the ground up, authored several books, painted portraits and still lives, spoke phrases in many languages, and attempted to replicate many culinary delights. We hope you didn’t try the mayonnaise fruit salad. Taking after his mother, he was generous to a fault and always willing to help out his family.

Pete enjoyed a lifetime of “hormone poisoning” and had a deep appreciation for the female form up until his very last days. He was an ISTJ (Myers-Briggs: Introverted, Observant, Thinking, and Judging), never found without a button down pocket shirt, a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, and a book in hand. He was known to wear shorts and a t-shirt on only one occasion. Later in life he fed the birds (pigeons are not birds) and was intrigued with theories about aliens and the Grand Solar Minimum. Carry a large bat and prepare for winter – you’ve been warned!

Friend to motorcyclists, foe to pigeons: Hans was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Kristen, and brothers Dean and David. Hans is survived by siblings Cameron (Christopher) Snow, and Corey (Paula) Pedersen. Pete is survived by his children Daphne Pedersen (Adam Kitzes), Gordon Pedersen (Noel Taylor), Cameron Pedersen (Kerri Morabito), and Libby Pedersen (What’s-his-name), as well as ten grandchildren (rounding up), and one great-grandchild. Ellis is survived by ex-wives Marianne Miller and Shannon McCarthy.

According to the piece of paper we found in the basket on top of his dresser, Pete requested that no services be held. When the snow melts, he will be remembered by his children during a private ceremony in the High Uintas while playing Desperado by The Eagles. In lieu of flowers, please fill your bird feeders - but not for the pigeons.

"The journey is from nothing to nowhere, it suits me."